Lost sleep and cyberloafing: Evidence from the laboratory and a daylight saving time quasi-experiment

J Appl Psychol. 2012 Sep;97(5):1068-76. doi: 10.1037/a0027557. Epub 2012 Feb 27.

Abstract

The Internet is a powerful tool that has changed the way people work. However, the ubiquity of the Internet has led to a new workplace threat to productivity-cyberloafing. Building on the ego depletion model of self-regulation, we examine how lost and low-quality sleep influence employee cyberloafing behaviors and how individual differences in conscientiousness moderate these effects. We also demonstrate that the shift to Daylight Saving Time (DST) results in a dramatic increase in cyberloafing behavior at the national level. We first tested the DST-cyberloafing relation through a national quasi-experiment, then directly tested the relation between sleep and cyberloafing in a closely controlled laboratory setting. We discuss the implications of our findings for theory, practice, and future research.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Efficiency
  • Ego
  • Humans
  • Internet / statistics & numerical data*
  • Sleep Deprivation*
  • Social Control, Informal*
  • Time Factors
  • Workplace*
  • Young Adult