Eager to belong: Social cyberloafing as a coping response to workplace ostracism

Many studies have explored the antecedents of cyberloafing, but less attention has been paid to the types of cyberloafing. Based on affective events theory, we developed a moderated mediation model to examine the relationship between workplace ostracism and social cyberloafing. The results of our empirical study of 589 employees reveal distinct effects of workplace ostracism on social cyberloafing and suggest that workplace loneliness mediates the positive relationship between workplace ostracism and social cyberloafing. Moreover, they indicate that conscientiousness moderates the relationship between workplace loneliness and social cyberloafing, such that the relationship is weaker when conscientiousness is higher. We conclude with theoretical and practical implications.