Research pick: Cut me some cyberslack - "What is behind cyberslacking? Investigating the effects of job stress and ethical climate at workplace"

Remote working and working from home have changed the daily routine for many people around the world allowing them to balance work and life in ways that were simply not possible with the conventional commuter-bracketed 9-to-5. However, a study in the International Journal of Public Sector Performance Management reveals that there is a growing problem, a habit among home-based workers known as “cyberslacking” where they use their normal paid working hours to carry out personal internet activities. Whether doom-scrolling through social media or messaging with family and friends, cyberslacking has, the study suggests, become a common distraction from their work for many home-workers.

It could be that the rush to create a better work-life balance is actually now tipping the scales in a direction detrimental to the employers that rely on their workers to be diligent and fulfil their obligations in a timely, effective, and efficient manners.

The focus of the work by Natasha Tageja and Vijit Chaturvedi of Amity University Noida in Uttar Pradesh and Deepika Mishra and Namita Rajput of the University of Delhi, India, is on the idea that stress, rather than procrastination tendencies or simple laziness, is fuelling this trend. The team used structural equation modelling to analyse surveys from 272 employees across three private information technology companies to see what patterns there might be linking job stress and cyberslacking. Cyberslacking, the team suggests, offers a quick mental escape for the digital nomad or the homeworker, a few stolen moments to distract briefly from the pressures of a demanding job. They suggest that strong ethical values built into the workplace are needed to reverse this trend.

As companies adjust to the new normal of flexible working arrangements, it is time to recognise the implications of job stress on employees and employers alike. For sectors such as information technology, education, and finance, where stress is almost part of the job description, there is an urgent need to address this hidden loss in productivity, especially as it erodes both team performance and organizational goals.

Tageja, N., Mishra, D., Chaturvedi, V. and Rajput, N. (2024) ‘What is behind cyberslacking? Investigating the effects of job stress and ethical climate at workplace’, Int. J. Public Sector Performance Management, Vol. 14, Nos. 3/4, pp.530–544.