Analysis of the relationship between virtual slacking behaviors and perceptions of professional ethics of hospital managers and employees: The case of Gazi̇ Üniversity Hospital

This research was conducted in a relational-descriptive and cross-sectional design with the aim of analyzing the relationship between hospital employees' virtual slacking behaviors and their perception of professional ethics. The research was conducted with 486 hospital managers and employees working at Gazi University Hospital, located in the center of Ankara. The data was collected through face-to-face and online survey methods. The data for the research was obtained between February 2022 and August 2022 using a survey form that included a Personal Information Form, a Virtual Slacking Scale (SKÖ), and an Ethical Approach Scale (EYÖ). Reliability analysis, descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, Mann-Whitney U tests, Kruskal-Wallis H test, Bonferroni test, and Spearman correlation analysis were used for data evaluation. In the research, a significance level of p<0.05 was considered. In the research, it was determined that 69,5% of hospital managers and employees were female, 21% were in the age range of 26-30, 47,7% had a bachelor's degree, 53,5% had worked in the healthcare sector for more than 10 years, 48,6% worked as nurses, and 16,9% held managerial positions within the institution. It was found that 76,1% of hospital managers and employees have been using the internet for more than 10 years, and 88,3% have mobile device access to the internet from anywhere. Among those who use the institution's internet, 51,7% utilize it for reasons other than work-related tasks. It was determined that hospital managers and employees scored an average of 2,05±0,64 on the Virtual Slacking Scale (SKÖ), indicating that they have a low level of cyberloafing behaviors. Additionally, they obtained an average score of 3,41±0,58 on the Ethical Approach Scale (EYÖ), indicating that their perception of professional ethics is high. In the research, it was determined that there is a statistically significant positive but low-level relationship between the total score of the Virtual Slacking Scale (SKÖ) and the score of the Ethical Approach Scale (EYÖ) for hospital managers and employees (r=0.160; p<0.001). Furthermore, significant differences were found in the SKÖ scores among hospital managers and employees based on age, educational status, duration of work in the sector, profession, location of internet access, and reasons for using the institution's internet. Similarly, significant differences were identified in the EYÖ scores among hospital managers and employees based on gender, age, educational status, profession, managerial position within the institution, location of internet access, and reasons for using the institution's internet. In conclusion, the research indicates that hospital managers and employees exhibit low levels of virtual slacking behaviors, while their perception of professional ethics is high. The study also found a statistically significant positive but low-level relationship between the virtual slacking behaviors and the perception of professional ethics among hospital managers and employees.