Traditional cyberloafing, mobile cyberloafing and personal mobile-internet loafing in business organizations

Abstract

Purpose Possession and usage of data-enabled smartphones have added further complexity to the issue of cyberloafing behavior and it certainly evokes newer ethical concerns. This study aims to explore how working individuals perceive the ethicality of their cyberloafing behaviors at the workplace and the cognitive logics they apply to justify their cyberloafing behavior. Design/methodology/approach Incorporating constructivist grounded theory methodology, 19 working managers from various organizations were interviewed face-to-face and responses were audio-recorded with prior consent. The recordings were transcribed verbatim, simultaneously analyzed and coded to let the themes emerge out of the data. Findings The research showed that working managers use varied combinations of office computers, personal laptops, smartphones, wireless internet provided at the office and personal mobile-internet to loaf around at workplaces. Moreover, it unearthed that employees use nine different neutralization techniques and six different ethical logics (with normative undertones) in a network fashion while considering the ethicality of cyberloafing behavior. Practical implications Recognizing the complexities is imperative to moderate any deviant behavior in an organization. The layers of ethicality and neutralization tactics will equip the working managers and companies to place the required internet and smartphone usage policies in the future. Originality/value This research has taken into account all forms of cyberloafing behaviors. The perceived ethicality of cyberloafing behavior at the workplace was not fully explored in a holistic manner before, specifically in the Indian context.

Cyberloafing and cyberslacking in the workplace: systematic literature review of past achievements and future promises

“…smart devices like smartwatches and smartphones, in organizations are evolving rapidly. It is possible that activities seminally conceptualized as minor cyberloafing behaviors may be considered normal behavior in current times, leading to the need to identify what type of use of social media, e-mail, Internet and other technologies is inappropriate in modern workplaces (Batabyal and Bhal, 2020;Hu et al, 2021;Whitty, 2004). Thus, we argue that contemporary conceptualization and the development of an overarching conceptual definition of cyberloafing is a critical need that must address the fragmented use of multiple terminologies that conceptually refer to cyberloafing activities.…”

“…that employees extensively use these technologies for personal and non-work-related activities or benefits (Batabyal and Bhal, 2020). This behavior is referred to by various terminologies, such as workplace Internet deviance (Zoghbi-Manrique- De-Lara, 2006), cyberslacking (Lavoie and Pychyl, 2001) and cyberloafing (Lim, 2002).…”

“…While the prior research has referred to both forms of operationalization (Henle and Cyberloafing and cyberslacking in the workplace Blanchard, 2008;Lim, 2002), there is a debate about whether cyberloafing can be considered a purely deviant workplace behavior (Lowe-Calverley and Grieve, 2017). Indeed, some scholars have suggested that cyberloafing may be a withdrawal behavior (Askew et al, 2014) and even a form of workplace procrastination (Lowe-Calverley and Grieve, 2017), which can result in diminished work satisfaction (Batabyal and Bhal, 2020;Farivar and Richardson, 2020). However, an alternative school of thought proposes that cyberloafing can act as a coping mechanism for employees, which allows them to relieve their work-related stress (Andel et al, 2019).…”

“…Moreover, studies have questioned what constitutes the appropriate use of these technologies (Whitty, 2004). For instance, according to Batabyal and Bhal (2020), cyberloafing includes the use of both employer-issued and personal devices as well as Internet resources. Sawitri and Mayasari (2017) proposed cyberloafing to encompass four main dimensions: e-mailing, surfing, leisure and serious browsing activities.…”

Correlation between cyberloafing and media consumption: Results of teenagers’ self-reports

“…This has led to another revision of forms of cyberloafing behaviour. Researchers use terms such as traditional cyberloafing, personal cyberloafing and mobile cyberloafing (Batabyal & Bhal, 2020;Wu et al, 2020a). They suggest using more general categories to describe the phenomenon being studied, for example, 'personal use of technology at work' (Burleson & Greenbaum, 2019;Kim, 2018).…”