Examining the relationship between fear of COVID-19, intolerance for uncertainty, and cyberloafing: A mediational model

Abira Reizer, Bella L. Galperin, Meena Chavan, Abhishek Behl and Vijay Pereira

Journal of Business Research, 2022, vol. 145, issue C, 660-670

Abstract: After the COVID-19 pandemic began, organizations had to pivot and move to online remote work. As companies moved to digital platforms and technologies for remote working, a key concern was the increase in workplace withdrawal behaviors during the pandemic, including cyberloafing, a form of workplace deviance. Cyberloafing can be described as the action of using the internet for non-work-related activities or personal use during working hours. Given its effect on organizational effectiveness and efficiency, organizations must take measures to minimize cyberloafing. We examined how two factors—fear of COVID-19 and intolerance for uncertainty—were related to cyberloafing during the third lockdown in Israel. A sample of 322 adults who were enrolled in professional courses at a university in Israel were surveyed. Based on Conservation of Resources Theory, our findings suggest that distress significantly mediated the relationship between fear of COVID-19, intolerance for uncertainty, and cyberloafing. In an attempt to deal with the stress and depletion of personal resources during the COVID-19 lockdown, individuals engaged in cyberloafing as a way to handle the stress. Our results suggest that organizations should take measures to reduce fear and uncertainty in order to decrease distress, which, in turn, will reduce cyberloafing.

Keywords: Cyberloafing; Digital platforms; Technology; Fear; Distress; Uncertainty (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:145:y:2022:i:c:p:660-670

DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2022.03.037

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