Who are cyberloafers? We know that they waste time at work by checking Facebook, sending personal emails, and otherwise discreetly using the Web in ways that they shouldn’t.
But an article published in the Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies finds they also share certain personality traits — and identifies ways that organizations may prevent the pervasive problem of cyberloafing:
The current study sought to expand prior research on cyberloafing by considering the impact of personality, as well as some previously unexplored situational factors. Specifically, we examined the impact of the Big Five personality factors, as well as the presence of an Internet usage policy and perceived work meaningfulness, on the amount of employee cyberloafing. Hierarchical regression analyses found that, controlling for gender and age, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and the presence of an Internet usage policy were all negatively related with cyberloafing whereas extroversion had a significant, positive relationship with cyberloafing. Implications of these findings for research and managerial practices are discussed.
Read the article in the Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, and sign up for e-alerts so you don’t miss new articles like this one.
