Does Cyberloafing create problems?

 

 

Why are you showing up to work today? The correct response is "you have duties to perform for the company." On the other hand, "cyberloafing" is the practice of spending work time on non-job-related internet sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, conversing with pals online or sending them jokes via email, online shopping, online gaming, downloading music, and so on.Cyberloafing has emerged as a new phenomenon in the study of organizational behavior in the age of computers and other cyber technologies. The term "cyberloafing" refers to when employees utilize company resources, such as computers and email, for personal use while on the clock. Cyberloafing is when employees use business computers and internet for non-work related activities during working hours.

Furthermore, recent research have shown that 84% of workers use business email for sending personal messages and 90% of workers use the internet for leisure (Lim and Teo, 2005). Vault.com also found that during work hours, 82% of employees send non-work related e-mails and 87% receive them, with many employees using this time to engage in activities such as online gaming, stock trading, shopping, sports betting, and gambling. Haghighi emphasized that 77% of workers check Facebook everyday, 77% of women use working hours to plan weddings, and 20% of men watch pornography at work. Cyberloafing is a serious problem in the workplace, as pointed out by Lim and Teo (2005).

New technologies have the potential to boost productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness in the workplace, but individuals who engage in harmful cyberloafing activities will inevitably cause issues. In other words, it may lead to lower output, a heightened vulnerability to cyber attacks, workplace harassment, intellectual property infringement, slander, and careless hiring. As a result, the company will have legal challenges and productivity problems.

Employees' stress and aggression can be lowered through light cyberloafing during the company's downtime, and the motivation it provides for creative problem solving, multitasking, and light cyberloafing has no negative effects on clients, colleagues, or the company's bottom line (Ivarsson and Larsson, 2012).

Just as there are pros and cons to anything, cyberloafing has both. As a result, the company's leadership must craft company policies by taking into account both of these perspectives, rather than just one.

 

Ivarsson, L. and Larsson, P. (2012) ‘Personal Internet Usage at Work: A Source of Recovery’, Journal of Workplace Rights. doi: 10.2190/wr.16.1.e.

Lim, V. K. G. and Teo, T. S. H. (2005) ‘Prevalence, perceived seriousness, justification and regulation of cyberloafing in Singapore: An exploratory study’, Information and Management, 42(8), pp. 1081–1093. doi: 10.1016/j.im.2004.12.002.