The Role of Relational Dynamics in Cyberloafing
A Systematic Review and Conceptual Framework
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22414432 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Puronjoni Sikidar (0009-0002-0455-0862, National Institute Of Technology Silchar), Saurabh Verma (0000-0002-9816-1552, National Institute Of Technology Silchar) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Publication date | 2026-06-29 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Management and Labour Studies (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0258-042X • E-ISSN: 2321-0710 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/0258042x261460729 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 68 |
Cyberloafing refers to employees’ use of organizational internet resources during work hours for activities unrelated to their job responsibilities. Although historically regarded as a negative and resource-wasting behaviour, extant literature has increasingly acknowledged the dual nature of cyberloafing. Beyond being a counterproductive workplace behaviour, it may also function as a restorative strategy for self-regulation and stress recovery. This study is based on a systematic review of 30 peer-reviewed articles, with particular emphasis on the relational predictors of cyberloafing, including leadership styles and team norms. The findings indicate that hostile leadership and co-workers’ deviant behaviours often serve as precursors to cyberloafing as a form of retaliation, whereas constructive leadership generally mitigates such behaviour unless high job demands paradoxically necessitate cyberloafing as a coping strategy. In addition, team norms reinforce cyberloafing through processes of social learning. To reconcile these relationships, this article proposes a ‘Two-way Relational Framework’ grounded in the social exchange theory and conservation of resources theory. The framework suggests that relational dynamics generate two motivational pathways leading to the same behavioural outcome: a retaliatory pathway rooted in deviant withdrawal and a restorative pathway functioning as adaptive coping. This study contributes to the literature by showing how specific relational antecedents activate these contrasting mechanisms, thereby addressing a critical issue in understanding and managing digital behaviour in contemporary work settings.
Cyberloafing at the workplace
Lessons from applying the systematic literature review process within the software engineering domain
Correlates of different forms of cyberloafing
The Dark Side of Leadership
Social Undermining in the Workplace.
Invisible at Work
Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses
Literature review as a research methodology
Social Exchange Theory
The effects of abusive supervision on the behaviors of employees in an organization
The role of prescriptive social norms on employees' cyberloafing
Eager to belong
Why cyberloafing can be socially learned in the workplace
Abusive supervision and cyberloafing
Shifting the literature from who and when to why
The hidden performance costs of professional isolation? A latent change score model of professional isolation during the early stage of Covid‐19 pandemic
Cyberloafing
Destructive leadership behaviour
Corporate Culture as a Mediator in the Relationship Between Ethical Leadership and Personal Internet Use
Disentangling How Coworkers and Supervisors Influence Employee Cyberloafing
Workplace loneliness, ego depletion and cyberloafing
Abusive supervisors and employees who cyberloaf
Do current anti‐cyberloafing disciplinary practices have a replica in research findings
Workplace ostracism and cyberloafing
The effects of abusive supervision, emotional exhaustion and organizational commitment on cyberloafing
Cyberloafing and cyberslacking in the workplace
The IT way of loafing on the job
Guidance on Conducting a Systematic Literature Review
Conservation of resources
Teaching presence predicts cyberloafing during online learning
Trust and Respect at Work
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |