Do current anti-cyberloafing disciplinary practices have a replica in research findings?: A study of the effects of coercive strategies on workplace Internet misuse

Purpose – This study aims to test the extent to which current coercive control strategies receive research support in controlling deviant workplace Internet behavior, also called cyberloafing. Consequently, it examines the relationship between cyberloafing and three classic coercive variables: perceived organizational control (POC), fear of formal punishment (FFP) and physical leadership proximity (LPP) as sensed by the employee. The model tested suggests that perceptions of leader physical proximity (LPP) antecede both the organizational amount of control (POC) and FFP and these both ones, in turn, affect cyberloafing. Additionally, the model suggests that POC increases FFP. Design/methodology/approach – Data were collected from 147 (19.4 percent) of the 758 non-teaching staff at a Spanish public university. Accessibility of individual e-mail accounts was similar for all employees. E-mails asking for collaboration were sent in two phases. A questionnaire was posted on the university intranet and could be accessed by clicking on a link in the e-mails. Findings – Structural equation modeling results show that LPP is a significant positively associated antecedent of POC and FFP. Moreover, POC, in turn, decreases cyberloafing, while FFP increases it. Research limitations/implications – The researched employees have job conditions inherent to the peculiarities of the public sector which may limit the ability to extrapolate the findings in the private sector. The fear construct was assessed by a self-supplied scale, and thus the presence of shades of other similar emotions could not be discounted. Findings provide a more understandable mechanism of the influence of supervisor proximity on cyberloafing. Practical implications – These findings contribute to an understanding of the ways in which organizations can control cyberloafing and provide reservations about the intimidator strategy efficiency. Supervisor proximity through the employee’s control senses appear as an effective strategy. Originality/value – The study of the joint interaction of the cited coercive variables against cyberloafing is unprecedented.