Examining the positive consequences of cyberloafing in the universities of Babol city

Dissertation for Master's Degree

Information Technology Management Department

Abstract

Nowadays, in most organizations, especially those that are not customer-oriented, and especially in government bodies that have employees with more idle hours, a phenomenon called cyberlofig is spreading. Employees who seem to be sitting at their desks and working with computers are actually surfing the Internet and sometimes They even shop, play games online, download movies, photos, or music, or they may be chatting with their friends via email. Some people deal with this phenomenon and try to eliminate it completely, while some people believe in several benefits of this phenomenon and believe that instead of completely removing cyberloafing from the office, it can be directed in the right direction in a way that even causes positive consequences. In recent years, studies on the positive consequences of cyberloafing such as reducing work stress, an uplifting activity for employees, increasing job satisfaction, etc has increased.

In line with the presence of positive factors in the phenomenon of cyberloafing, in this research, an attempt was made to identify and present some of the positive consequences of this phenomenon in the universities of Babol city. Hypotheses regarding the existence of a positive relationship between cyberloafing activities and behaviors with job satisfaction, organizational commitment and integration with the job were tested. was obtained In order to investigate the relationship between variables, Pearson's correlation coefficient test and structural equation test were used for the degree of correlation between model variables. SPSS and Lisrel software have been used for calculations related to the variables and model fit. Statistical data analysis showed a positive relationship between job satisfaction at the rate of 0.255, organizational commitment at the rate of 0.451, and engagement with the job at the rate of 0.186 with cyberloafing.

The main problem of the research

In the universities of Babol city, because every employee is free and unrestricted in using the Internet, employees in During daily work, they follow news from the Internet, browse various entertainment sites, and also devote a significant part of their time to social communication through the Internet. Regardless of the inevitability of this phenomenon and in the circumstances that preventing this phenomenon will cause dissatisfaction and anger among employees, it has been shown that employees' use of the Internet at work can also cause positive effects. Considering these cases and also to prevent authoritarian opposition to employees in this matter, this research has been tried Some positive factors of using the internet at work have to be identified and presented.

The internet has become an essential part of the working and daily life of many people. Spending work time for various non-work activities is not unusual. Activities such as booking tickets for holidays, online shopping, participating in online auctions and receiving emails from friends and colleagues are among them. (Griffiths, 2010)

The benefits of using computer systems and local networks is something that has been proven successful for all managers and is considered a normal thing in most of the developed countries of the world. This problem has also opened its way to developing and underdeveloped countries, and wherever a manager is looking for the progress of his organization, one of the first things he feels is the need to use computer technology and automate the administrative, financial and organizational systems under his supervision.

Today, technology and its developments have become one of the most important elements of the organization's strategic environment. Some believe that technological developments and evolution have more significant effects and consequences in economic, social and even political systems than the technology itself. It is important to create and develop scientific knowledge in the field of technology management and technological management. Just as the goal in technology management is to manage the application and institutionalization of technology as a strategic resource in the organization and to create strategic values ??by it, in technological management, which is a broader concept than technology management, the goal is to understand and control the effects of technology application in all management tasks (Chanaronettal, 2002).

Meanwhile, something that has worried the managers of organizations and most managers in organizations have taken very serious policies to deal with it is the phenomenon of cyberloafing. (2009, (Vengas

Also in another definition, cyberloafing is an act that employees do by accessing the Internet to achieve personal goals in their organizations during working hours. Internet surfing has also been introduced in this way as a deviation from production. (Lim, 2002)

Two forms are considered for cyberloafing: partial cyberloafing (for example, sending and receiving personal e-mails in (Blanchard & Henle, 2008) There are other equivalents for cyberloafing, such as cyberstalking [2] or cyberbullying [3], which are all mentioned as a behavior towards the inefficiency of employees in work environments. Goofing off [4] is another equivalent It is a slang term in the United States and it means to ignore work obligations due to being involved in fun and entertainment. A simple definition of this concept is the misuse of the Internet by employees (Blanchard & Henle, 2008) According to the research done by Silicon [5], the phenomenon of cyberloafing is a problem of employees who are unmotivated and feel that the organization is not as they should be. It doesn't get involved with work. This lack of motivation resulting from the lack of proper work is the basis for them to turn to cyberloafing.

Given that the majority of the research conducted in the field of cyberloafing has been devoted to investigating its negative consequences, and most of the managers consider such employee activities as a misuse of the organization's time and resources and try to stop them with different methods, so that a group of managers are of the opinion that they should prevent employees from accessing the Internet in general and only in necessary cases. And to control their employees by creating controls such as a firewall, or using security systems, which there are special companies for this purpose.

All these discussions are while in research conducted in the Netherlands, it has been shown that those who do their personal work through the Internet or in any other way at work are more productive than those who do not because they prioritize their organizational and personal work and They manage properly and reduce their work stress by enjoying working hours.  (Van Doorn, 2011)

Also, another issue that is raised is that, assuming that employees' access to the Internet at work is limited or cut off, and considering that with the huge number of things that can be done by the Internet with less cost and less time, and by this we force employees to do their work without the Internet, won't this cause employee dissatisfaction at work?

While the Internet has many benefits such as reducing Prices, reduction of production cycle time, ease of access to information, and purchase services, its disadvantages are also discussed, which include employee concerns about privacy, reduced productivity and organizational competence. is In other words, the Internet is like a double-edged sword that companies and organizations should spread among employees, but also be careful. (Thompson & Vivien 2005, p1081)

With this, managers of organizations try to establish stricter rules than in the past in order to prevent employees from using the Internet at work, for example, software to monitor and track the activities of employees on the Internet, or installing and setting up proxies to prevent access to Internet resources such as messenger and chat environments, or some online games, etc., some disciplinary measures For employees and actions like this, which certainly cannot prevent this phenomenon only with these actions, they may turn the organization into a prison for employees and deprive their employees of even using the Internet correctly.