The Role of Relational Dynamics in Cyberloafing: A Systematic Review and Conceptual Framework

Cyberloafing refers to employees’ use of organizational internet resources during work hours for activities unrelated to their job responsibilities. Although historically regarded as a negative and resource-wasting behaviour, extant literature has increasingly acknowledged the dual nature of cyberloafing. Beyond being a counterproductive workplace behaviour, it may also function as a restorative strategy for self-regulation and stress recovery. This study is based on a systematic review of 30 peer-reviewed articles, with particular emphasis on the relational predictors of cyberloafing, including leadership styles and team norms. The findings indicate that hostile leadership and co-workers’ deviant behaviours often serve as precursors to cyberloafing as a form of retaliation, whereas constructive leadership generally mitigates such behaviour unless high job demands paradoxically necessitate cyberloafing as a coping strategy. In addition, team norms reinforce cyberloafing through processes of social learning. To reconcile these relationships, this article proposes a ‘Two-way Relational Framework’ grounded in the social exchange theory and conservation of resources theory. The framework suggests that relational dynamics generate two motivational pathways leading to the same behavioural outcome: a retaliatory pathway rooted in deviant withdrawal and a restorative pathway functioning as adaptive coping. This study contributes to the literature by showing how specific relational antecedents activate these contrasting mechanisms, thereby addressing a critical issue in understanding and managing digital behaviour in contemporary work settings.