Effect Of Construal Level On Cyberloafing:Mediating Role Of Career Goal And Vocational Delay Of Gratification

As the Internet comes into daily life and work,people are closer to the Internet,a new type of work deviation behavior is derived:cyberloafing.Cyberloafing is a performance of work sabotage.Too many cyberloafing behaviors have negative impacts on the development of individuals and organizations.Therefore,it is necessary to explore the factors and mechanisms that affect employees’ cyberloafing.Based on the construal level theory to analyze cyberloafing,construal level will affect employees’ mental representations of work,and then affect personal attitudes and behaviors toward work,resulting in different cyberloafing behaviors.Therefore,this study intends to explore the influence of employees’ construal level on cyberloafing,and explore the psychological mechanisms.Study 1 uses two experiments to explore the relationship between the construal level and cyberloafing.Study 1A has proved the negative correlation between the construal level and cyberloafing through a questionnaire survey of 78 employees.On.the basis of preliminary verification of the correlation,Study 1B adopts a single-factor between design to explore the causal relationship between the construal level and cyberloafing through experiments to manipulate the construal level of 82 employees.It is found that the individual,who is at a high construal level,will have less intention to cyberloafing than the low.Study 2 is based on Study 1,further exploring the specific path between the construal level and cyberloafing.Study 2A explored the mediating effect through a two-period questionnaire survey.The results of the study of 592 employees show that career goals and vocational delay of gratification play a role as a chain mediating effect between the construal level and cyberloafing.Study 2B used the Experience Sampling Methodology to conduct a 10-working-day survey of 59 employees.Because cyberloafing is a certain degree of volatility,so the ESM can be used to repeatedly measure the individual’s cyberloafing behavior over a period of time,and the data can better represent the real situation.The results of the study show that the construal level has a negative effect on daily cyberloafing behavior,but the hypothesis of chain mediating effect has not been repeatedly verified.This study explored whether and how the construal level affects employees’cyberloafing behavior.Through four studies,the following conclusions were reached:(1)The construal level has a negative correlation with employees’ cyberloafing.(2)Individuals show less intention to cyberloafing when they are at a high construal level than when they are at a low level.(3)Career goals and vocational delay of gratification play a role as a chain mediating effect between the construal level and employees’ cyberloafing.(4)The construal level has a negative effect on daily cyberloafing behavior.