Graduation Year

2012

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Ph.D.

Degree Granting Department

Psychology

Major Professor

Michael Coovert, Ph.D.

Co-Major Professor

Joseph Vandello, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Paul Spector, Ph.D.

Committee Member

William Young, Ph.D.

Committee Member

Walter Borman, Ph.D.

Keywords

counterproductive work behavior, cyberdeviancy, cyberloafing, cyberslacking, non-work related computing, Theory of Planned Behavior

Abstract

Counterproductive work behaviors have been studied extensively, but much less work has been done on cyberloafing - the personal use of the internet at work. The purpose of this investigation was threefold: a) replicate a previous finding and test the Theory of Planned Behavior as a model of the antecedents of cyberloafing, b) investigate the influence of cyberloafing on task performance in actual organizations, and c) examine the relationship between cyberloafing and job satisfaction in actual organizations. Four hundred forty seven subordinates and 147 supervisors from various organizations participated in the current investigation. Results suggest that a) the Theory of Planned Behavior is an appropriate model of the antecedents of cyberloafing, b) cyberloafing might not have a strong influence on task performance, except when done frequently and in long durations, and c) job satisfaction is unrelated to cyberloafing on a desktop but is related to cyberloafing on a cellphone. Implications and future directions are discussed.

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