Examining the antecedents and consequence of smartphone loafing at workplace: Testing a moderated sequential mediation model

The growing use of smartphones at workplaces necessitates investigating its reasons and consequent effects on employees’ task performance. Moreover, this paper proposes three hypotheses to test a sequential model that elucidates both the antecedents and consequences of cyberloafing activities through smartphones. Multiple sampling designs are used to collect the data through a questionnaire. The sample size is 750 with a response rate of 92%. A structured questionnaire is used by adapting items for each construct from different established instruments available in the literature. The findings reveal that job stress creates cynicism among the employees that induces them to indulge in smartphone loafing that proves to be detrimental to their task performance. However, if employees self-regulate their counterproductive behavior, it tends to mitigate the negative impact on their task performance. This paper provides substantial theoretical and practical implications for HR managers to devise policies to reduce smartphone loafing activities.