Cyberloafing behaviours in nursing: The role of nursing stressors.

Aim: To assess the prevalence of minor and serious cyberloafing behaviours among nurses and examine the impact of the nursing stressors on nurses' cyberloafing behaviours. Background: 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. Design: A cross‐sectional descriptive, correlational design. Methods: 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. Findings 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. Conclusion: 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. Summary statement: What is already known about this topic? Job characteristics and stress have been linked to increased cyberloafing behaviours among employees.Cyberloafing can serve as a coping mechanism to deal with stressful work environment.No studies have been conducted to describe the association between nursing stressors and cyberloafing behaviours. What this paper adds? Nurses in Saudi Arabia exhibited low levels of cyberloafing behaviours.The frequency of minor and serious cyberloafing behaviours among nurses is influenced by their stress and Internet usage frequency.Nurses' level of education and nationality impacted serious cyberloafing behaviours only. The implications of this paper Efforts should be taken to minimize the impact of nursing stressors by creating a healthy work environment and promoting nursing practice.Establishing a clear policy regarding using the Internet and advanced technology for non‐work purposes is essential to avoid the adverse effects of cyberloafing.Providing education for nurses on cyberloafing associated risks might reduce the amount of cyberloafing during working hours. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]