Cyberloafing behaviours in nursing: The role of nursing stressors

To assess the prevalence of minor and serious cyberloafing behaviours among nurses and examine the impact of the nursing stressors on nurses' cyberloafing behaviours.

Cyberloafing could have a negative influence on employees' job performance, but it also has been argued that it could serve as a coping mechanism to deal with stressful work environments.

A cross-sectional descriptive, correlational design.

Data were collected between September and December 2020 from a convenience sample of staff nurses (N = 291) providing care at a tertiary hospital in Saudi Arabia. Sample characteristics, nursing stressors and cyberloafing behaviours information were collected using self-reported questionnaires. Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed.

Nurses in Saudi Arabia exhibited low levels of minor and serious cyberloafing behaviours. However, they engaged more frequently in minor cyberloafing behaviours more than serious cyberloafing behaviours. Stressors and Internet usage frequency influenced the frequency of minor and serious cyberloafing behaviours. Level of education and nationality impacted serious cyberloafing behaviours only.

Nursing stressors were associated with cyberloafing behaviours. Other studies on cyberloafing and job stress yielded inconsistent results. Efforts should be taken to avoid the adverse effects of cyberloafing by establishing a clear policy on using the advanced technology for non-work purposes.