The role of organizational cynicism in the relationship between organizational commitment and cyberloafing

Cyberloafing is defined as employees engaging in activities that are not related to their work (social media use, online shopping, playing games, etc.) during work hours. This situation has become a common problem in workplaces with the widespread use of the internet today. A lack of focus on one's duties and deviations from work discipline on the part of employees can give rise to negative outcomes in terms of work productivity and organisational commitment. The mediating role of organizational cynicism in the relationship between cyberloafing and organizational commitment is a potentially fruitful avenue for further investigation. Cynical employees may express their negative feelings towards the organisation by engaging in non-work activities over the internet. Employees with high levels of organisational cynicism may have low levels of commitment to the organisation and this may differentiate the effect of organisational commitment on cyberloafing. The aim of this study is to reveal whether there is a mediating effect of organisational cynicism in the relationship between organisational commitment levels and cyberloafing behaviours, and if so, at what level. The population of the study consists of teachers working in Aksaray Directorate of National Education. The sample consists of 392 primary school teachers randomly selected by convenience sampling method. Relational survey method was used in the research. In addition to the 'Personal Information Form' in the questionnaire form, Organisational Cynicism Scale, Virtual Shirking Scale and Organisational Commitment Scales were used in the research. The evaluated scale data were analysed through SPSS 26.0 package programme. In the study, validity-reliability analyses, normality analyses, correlation analyses, regression analyses and difference analyses (One-Way Anova - Independent Sample T test) were performed to determine the mean differences between demographic factors and variables. As a result of the analysis, it was determined that employees' organizational commitment levels affect their cyberloafing behaviors and organizational cynicism has a mediating role in this effect.