THE IMPACT OF CYBERLOAFING ON EMPLOYEES PRODUCTIVITY IN BANKING SECTOR OF CAMEROON

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

The internet has increased employment flexibility, independence, and freedom. ICT has significantly changed how people work in all economic areas, increasing efficiency and production. However, technology is also encouraging negative or ineffective human behavior (Anandarajan and Simmers, 2019). These days, in addition to utilizing the internet at work, employees may also access it on tiny computers known as mobile devices. Thus, it is problematic in the modern day to draw a boundary between appropriate and inappropriate internet use while postponing an employee's ongoing work-related obligations. An employee's conduct deviates from typical production when they put off work for personal projects, highlighting the disparity between the quantity and quality of their output. Cyberloafing is the term for using the internet for non-business objectives (Lim 2022). Furthermore, when work is delayed for personal interests, an employee's behavior deviates from normal output, emphasizing the discrepancy between the quantity and quality of their output. While the majority of research on cyberloafing focuses on the detrimental consequences it has on employees and companies, more recent studies have begun to explore the potential benefits as well. Additionally, cyberloafing influences employee behavior in a good way, according to some of these research, suggesting that it has both beneficial and bad consequences in the workplace. Interestingly, studies have shown that persons who have run out of energy are more likely to participate in cognitive behavioral breaks (CWBs) (Banks, Whelpley, Oh, & Shin, 2019). Even while the exact impact of cyberloafing on organization is impossible to quantify, empirical research suggests that the majority of employees indulge in it during work hours (Andressen et al., 2018). On the other hand,  Barlow et al. (2019) and Blau, Yang, and Ward-Cook (2016) elaborated on the same detrimental association of cyber laziness with task performance, citing the inefficient use of online time. While Lim and Chen (2018) claim that employees gain from web browsing when composing emails. Nevertheless, examining employee attitudes toward cyberloafing as a response to job stress and how it impacts the workplace is crucial in today's fast-paced environment with high work expectations, little to no work-life balance, and organizational pressure. Workplace pressures have been connected to increases in counterproductive work and strain as well as decreases in job effectiveness (Meier & Spector, 2018). However, numerous studies have proposed that cyberloafing is a reaction to unjust treatment in the workplace. They all agree that workers who put in extra effort to obtain the information or resources they need to perform their tasks, put in unpaid overtime, or are obliged to complete an excessive amount of work can justify cyberloafing (Lim, Teo, & Loo, 2022). Crucially, when workers sense repercussions from the business, such disciplinary action, they are less inclined to adopt cyberloafing as a stress-reduction tactic. It is against this drop, a survey will be conducted in order to examine the impact of cyberloafing on employees productivity in banking sector of Cameroon. 

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Cyberloafing, or using the internet for purposes unrelated to work while at work, can have a number of detrimental effects on workers' output. But engaging in cyberlazy activities all the time, such social media browsing or online gaming, might cause one to lose focus and attention. Due to their inability to focus on their work for an extended period of time, employees may produce work that is less effective and of worse quality. Furthermore, deadline misses brought on by cyberloafing might cause procrastination. Employees may find it difficult to finish tasks within the allotted time when they use work time for unproductive internet activities. This can cause delays in project delivery and have a bad impact on team productivity. Thus, it is in the light of these that the study seeks to examine the impact of cyberloafing on employees productivity in banking sector of Cameroon. 

1.3  Objectives of the Study

The main purpose of this study is to examine the impact of cyberloafing on employees productivity in banking sector of Cameroon.  Specifically, the study will;

Determine the level of cyberloafing among employees in banking sector of Cameroon.

Determine whether there is a significant relationship between cyberloafing and employees productivity

Investigate the  causes of cyberloafing among employees in banking sector of Cameroon.

Investigate the impact of cyberloafing on employees productivity in banking sector of Cameroon.

1.4 Research Questions

The following questions have been prepared for the study:

What is the level of cyberloafing among employees in the banking sector of Cameroon?

Is there a significant relationship between cyberloafing and employee productivity in the banking sector of Cameroon?

What are the causes of cyberloafing among employees in the banking sector of Cameroon?

What is the impact of cyberloafing on employee productivity in the banking sector of Cameroon?

1.5  Significance of the Study

The findings of the study will help managers identify the extent to which cyber loafing affects work efficiency and overall performance of employees in the banking sector. Additionally, employees  will benefit from research on cyberloafing as it raises awareness about the potential consequences of engaging in non-work-related online activities during work hours.  Further more, subsequent researchers will use it as a literature review. This means that other students who may decide to conduct studies in this area will have the opportunity to use this study as available literature that can be subjected to critical review. Invariably, the result of the study contributes immensely to the body of academic knowledge with regard to the impact of cyberloafing on employees productivity in banking sector of Cameroon. 

1.6 Scope of the study

The scope of this study is boarded on examine the impact of cyberloafing on employees productivity in banking sector of Cameroon. Empirically, the study will determine the level of cyberloafing among employees in banking sector of Cameroon, investigate the causes of cyberloafing among employees in banking sector of Cameroon, determine whether there is a significant relationship between cyberloafing and employees productivity and investigate the impact of cyberloafing on employees productivity in banking sector of Cameroon.

Geographically, the study will be delimited to employees of Afriland First bank, Cameroon.

1.7 Limitation of the study

In the course of carrying out this study, the researcher experienced some constraints, which included time constraints, financial constraints, language barriers, and the attitude of the respondents. In addition, there was the element of researcher bias. Here, the researcher possessed some biases that may have been reflected in the way the data was collected, the type of people interviewed or sampled, and how the data gathered was interpreted thereafter. The potential for all this to influence the findings and conclusions could not be downplayed.

More so, the findings of this study are limited to the sample population in the study area, hence they may not be suitable for use in comparison to other schools, local governments, states, and other countries in the world.

 1.8 Definition of Terms

Employee: a person employed for wages or salary.

Productivity: the state or quality of being productive. It is the effectiveness of productive effort, especially in an organization, as measured in terms of the rate of output per unit of input.

Cyberloafing: is a terminology which can be described as the action of employees who use the internet for non-work related activities or personal use during their working hours while pretending to do official work.

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