Explaining the Role of Job Embeddedness in Predicting the Unethical Behavior of Cyberloafing

Deviant behaviors are instances of unethical behaviors in organizations having an adverse effect on their productivity. The current research was accomplished to explain the relationship between job embeddedness and unethical behavior of cyberloafing among the employees of a public university.

In the framework of descriptive-correlational research aiming at creating applied knowledge in the subject area, a sample of 500 administrative staff who had access to the organizational Internet was surveyed by conducting convenience sampling. And then, sampling adequacy was established given the test power and the number of model’s parameters and coefficients. Field data were gathered by adopting pre-made questionnaires existed in the valid studies after verifying their validity and reliability. Research hypotheses were tested by conducting variance-based structural equation modeling in Smart-PLS software.

According to research results, the variable of job embeddedness has an increasing effect on employees’ cyberloafing behaviors. In addition, job satisfaction decreases the effect of job embeddedness on cyberloafing to a great extent. It should be noted that although job satisfaction makes this relationship close to zero, it does not reverse it. In general, and considering the moderation slope, the amount of exerting the cyberloafing behaviors is almost zero for highly embedded employees who are satisfied with their jobs.

The quality of the relationship between job embeddedness and cyberloafing depends on employees’ attitude towards the job and their perception of job conditions, and thus, job satisfaction can dramatically reduce the effect of job embeddedness on cyberloafing.