Prediction of cyberslacking when employees are working away from the office

• Associations of personality and cyberslacking were investigated in telecommuters.
• Cyberslacking was defined as non-work related use of the Internet on company time.
• Procrastination, Agreeableness, and Honesty were the most important traits.
• Satisfaction and perceived performance were associated with cyberslacking.

The landscape of counterproductive workplace behavior is changing with the rapid integration of advanced communication technologies in the modern workforce. Specifically, employers are increasingly allowing employees to spend some work time at home, and to stay connected with the office through communication technologies. These telework arrangements bring about a new form of counterproductive workplace behaviors, namely, cyberslacking. Cyberslacking involves using the Internet for non-work related purposes while on company time. Engaging in cyberslacking might be particularly relevant when working at home because it would be easier to avoid being caught by supervisors and co-workers. The current study examines personality, satisfaction, and perceived performance as antecedents of cyberslacking while working away from the office. Findings from a field study indicate that cyberslacking is positively related to Procrastination, and negatively related to Honesty, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness. Cyberlacking was also found to be negatively related to both satisfaction and perceived performance while working remotely. The study suggests that personality might be used as an avenue for screening those who may be selected for remote work, or to help develop structures that reduce cyberslacking opportunities for those with personalities that are predisposed to cyberslacking (e.g., closer managerial monitoring of the employee’s daily output).