Introduction: The present study aimed to investigate the role of psychological stressors and personal resources in explaining employees’ cyberloafing behavior and its occupational consequences among staff working in the Departments of Sports and Youth Affairs.
Methods: This study employed a descriptive-survey design. The statistical population consisted of all employees of the Departments of Sports and Youth Affairs in Golestan Province, Iran. Based on Cochran’s formula, a sample size of 144 participants was determined and selected through convenience sampling. Data were collected using the Cyberloafing Behavior Questionnaire (Askew, 2014), Workplace Ostracism Scale (Hitlan & Noel, 2009), Emotional Exhaustion Questionnaire (Chen, 2019), Occupational Fatigue Recovery Scale (Winwood et al., 2005), Time Management Questionnaire (Moorhead & Griffin, 1989), Organizational Cynicism Questionnaire (Callaghan et al., 2009), Job Performance Questionnaire (Hersey & Goldsmith, 1981), and Organizational Trust Questionnaire (Paine, 2003). Data were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) through SPSS version 25 and SmartPLS version 3.
Results: The findings indicated that lack of organizational trust (β = 0.957, t = 20.168), workplace ostracism (β = 0.599, t = 19.071), emotional exhaustion (β = 0.846, t = 9.472), and organizational cynicism (β = 0.619, t = 10.577) had significant positive effects on cyberloafing behavior. In contrast, personal resources, including workplace recovery (β = −0.477, t = 14.355) and time management skills (β = −0.774, t = 13.594), showed significant negative effects on cyberloafing. Furthermore, cyberloafing was negatively associated with job performance (β = −0.533, t = 22.676).
Conclusion: The results suggest that organizational psychological stressors contribute to increased cyberloafing among employees, which in turn leads to reduced job performance. Conversely, personal resources such as workplace recovery and effective time management skills may mitigate cyberloafing behavior and its adverse occupational outcomes.