Examining the interplay of job autonomy, self-control, and leader-member exchange in predicting cyberloafing behaviours

Abstract

Cyberloafing, or non-work-related internet use during work hours, is increasingly prevalent in autonomous work environments. Previous research has established individual associations between job autonomy, self-control, leader-member exchange (LMX) and cyberloafing. However, no study has examined how self-control and LMX individually and jointly moderate the relationship between job autonomy and cyberloafing. This study hypothesised that higher job autonomy is associated with increased cyberloafing, and this association will be weaker at higher levels of self-control and LMX. Working adults (N = 301) were recruited for this study. Hierarchical multiple regression tested the hypothesised relationships. Findings showed that cyberloafing was negatively associated with self-control, but not related with job autonomy and LMX. Furthermore, neither self-control nor LMX moderated the relationship between job autonomy and cyberloafing. Future research may examine mechanisms underlying the negative association between self-control and cyberloafing in greater detail.