Sage Business Cases

Cyberslacking and Employer Monitoring

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Author: Patrick Kelly, Sydnee Manley, Soleil Corvelo

Pub. Date: 2024
Product: Sage Business Cases
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781071945643
Keywords: employers, monitoring, workers
Disciplines: Corporate Social Responsibility, Business Ethics & Corporate Social Responsibility, Business
& Management, Business Ethics (general), Human Resource Management (general), Human Resource
Management
Access Date: March 15, 2025
Publisher: SAGE Publications: SAGE Business Cases Originals
Online ISBN: 9781071945643

© 2024 SAGE Publications: SAGE Business Cases Originals All Rights Reserved.
Sage Sage Business Cases
© 2024 Patrick Kelly

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Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic many workers quickly transitioned to working from home. In the after-
math of the pandemic, many white-collar professionals (e.g., administrative executives, accountants,
auditors, lawyers, technology workers, and finance executives) continued to perform their daily du-
ties remotely on at least a part-time basis. The organizations that employ remote workers are con-
cerned that they might be engaging in cyberslacking, meaning they are spending part of their workday
doing tasks not related to their normal duties, thereby leading to economic losses for their organiza-
tions. Since remote workers frequently use computers to complete their assignments, employers can
check the work progress by monitoring computer activity of those working from home. Some of the
approaches used to track remote worker activities appear to be invasive and aggressive, resulting in
resistance from employees. Organizations are thus faced with developing policies and procedures that
discourage cyberslacking but are considered professional and reasonable approaches to manage re-
mote workers.

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Case

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this case study, students should be able to:

• describe the development of cyberslacking since 2020 and the challenges it presents to organiza-
tions with remote workers;
• explain employer approaches used to monitor remote employee work performance; and
• apply major ethical decision-making frameworks in developing recommendations to prevent cyber-
slacking.

Introduction

After COVID-19 hit the United States in January 2020, it was not long until many professionals were quickly
forced to transition to a completely virtual work environment (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
2023). In May of 2020, roughly 35% of the U.S. workforce worked remotely (Coate, 2021). While COVID-19
does not have the same negative impact on the country today as it did in early 2020, many people have be-
come accustomed to the ability to work from home, and a large portion of employers found that many work-
related tasks can be completed just as effectively from home as they had been accomplished in the office
setting. Consequently, as of early 2022, 58% of workers in the United States have the option to work from
home at least one day weekly (Dua et al., 2022).

With a workforce that spends a large amount of time outside of the four walls of an office, upper managements
of many companies have concerns about the productivity of their employees, especially in a time where “cy-
berloafing” or “cyberslacking” has become prevalent. Cyberloafing or cyberslacking is defined as “an employ-
ee’s use of work computers and other resources during work hours for non-work-related purposes” (Kenton,
2021).

Cyberslacking is not a new concept. Over 20 years ago, Lim (2002) noted that cyberloafing was the “IT way
of loafing on the job,” describing how employees were using the Internet for personal reasons while at work
and citing one study that found 50% of companies were at least somewhat concerned that employees were

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using the Internet for non-work tasks. Results from this study indicated that cyberloafing occurs when em-
ployees think they have not been treated fairly (Lim, 2002). More recently, a 2022 systematic literature review
identified 87 studies on the topic dating from 2002. The authors noted the increased prevalence of workplace
digitization and Internet-based communication (ICT) platforms, along with additional opportunities for cyber-
slacking behaviors (Tandon et al., 2022). In a broad sense, cyberloafing is a form of procrastination which can
take on forms such as zoning out or chatting at the water cooler (Darden, 2015; Lim & Teo, 2022).

While this case tends to focus on U.S. companies, cyberslacking is a global phenomenon that has existed for
decades. For example, Hassan et al. (2015) studied cyberloafing in the Tehran Subway Organization, finding
that employees are less likely to engage in cyberloafing when monitoring systems are effective and adverse
consequences exist. Ugrin et al. (2018) examined the relationship between culture and cyberloafing using
the Hofstede Model. They found evidence of cyberloafing globally and that national culture contributed to its
presence. They suggested that organizations should consider cultures when establishing policies and pro-
grams to address cyberloafing (Ugrin et al., 2018). Syed et al. (2020) reviewed the 1996–2020 literature on
the impact of cyberloafing on employees’ job performance. In addition to the U.S. organizations, they cited
cyberloafing studies from Spain, Malaysia, South Korea, China, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Lebanon, and Ghana. In-
terestingly, they found that while cyberloafing may negatively impact worker performance, organizations that
monitor employee Internet use and permit certain times for cyberloafing may experience improved work per-
formance (Syed et al., 2020).

With the world at our fingertips whilst on a laptop, it can become difficult to avoid the cyberloafing that is
dreaded by the corporate United States. According to research conducted at the University of Nevada, cyber-
slacking annually costs businesses approximately USD 85 billion (Stokel-Walker, 2020). As every for-profit
business has one goal in common—to become and remain profitable—the economic impact of cyberloafing
is a cause for concern.

Other companies across the globe have installed a wide array of software packages on company-issued lap-
tops, smart-phones, and other equipment to ensure that employees are staying productive and on-task. Some
of the programs installed are arguably extremely invasive. For instance, at ESW Capital, employees were
tracked at random and unpredictable times. During these tracked times, their laptop cameras would be turned
on, and images would be taken of them to ensure that they were actually working. Additionally, images were
taken of their screen, making sure that they were viewing items on their laptops that were related solely to
work, and not related to personal sites, social media, and so on (Kantor & Sundaram, 2022). Consequences

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resulted if the employee was found to be “off-task” during these times. In fact, it could cost them 10 minutes of
pay every time they were found to be “off-task.” Due to the randomness of these images, an employee could
simply be taking a break to go to the restroom and may have their pay suffer because they were not in the
image in the one second the image was taken. Employees at ESW have spoken out, stating that “You have
to be in front of your computer, in work mode, 55 or 60 hours just to get those 40 hours counted and paid for,”
since offline work was not compensated by the company (Kantor & Sundaram, 2022).

ESW Capital is not the only company with practices such as these. Another company is UnitedHealthcare,
which employs social workers. UnitedHealthcare has a tracking system in place that labels their workers as
being inactive when there has been an absence of keystrokes after a short period of time. The concern with
this approach, however, arises when one considers the nature of social work. A large portion of social work
involves “off-computer” tasks, such as engaging in conversations with clients and other clinical providers. The
worst part was that the tracking system played a vital component in the performance review faced by those
employed by UnitedHealthcare. As is the case at many other companies, the results of the performance re-
view play a key role in determining pay for employees. Hence, employees who may be working diligently, but
not on their laptops, face the chance of being penalized as it relates to their overall salary due to these met-
rics (Kantor & Sundaram, 2022).

In a survey conducted in 2021, researchers found that 60% of companies in the United States use some form
of software to track what their employees are doing during the day. This study also found that nearly 90%
of companies who have this software have fired employees due to information revealed by these programs
(Corbyn, 2022). With this being a common practice across the country, how do workers feel about this? One
research study revealed employees being tracked online reported lower levels of intrinsic work motivation
(Jiang et al., 2020). Other research has connected computer tracking with an increase in stress felt by em-
ployees, along with greater anxiety (Friedman & Reed, 2007). Additionally, employees who are constantly
kept under observation are likely to feel a lower sense of autonomy (Corbyn, 2022). On the other hand, you
cannot ignore major issues that may arise for companies if they do not have tracking services in place. As
aforementioned, cyberloafing can cost companies a hefty amount annually due to lost work time, and there’s
also a cybersecurity risk that arises if/when employees download personal unsafe items onto work-issued
technology (Quackenbush, 2022). Following the 2020 pandemic, there has been a 300% increase in cyber-
attacks as of 2022, with even more predicted to occur in the next five years (Marks, 2022). This could leave
the company at risk of data leaks and other major security issues, which may even lead to legal issues or
other detrimental impacts down the road.

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How to Assess Cyberslacking

In assessing cyberslacking and employer monitoring, you may find the following approaches to ethical deci-
sion making helpful as you develop your case solution. These are provided by the Markkula Center for Ap-
plied Ethics at Santa Clara University and are briefly summarized below.

The utilitarian approach. This approach focuses on the consequences of an action, with the correct moral
action being determined by calculating the net value of the action’s consequences for those affected. Utilitar-
ian Jeremy Bentham focused on “the greatest good for the greatest number,” while utilitarian John Stuart Mill
held that the degree of the consequences (pleasure and pain) should also be considered. There are basically
three steps to addressing the situation with a utilitarian approach: first, identify the various courses of action;
next, determine all the foreseeable benefits and harms of each approach; and finally, choose the course of
action that provides the greatest benefits after the costs have been considered. Although this may sound
good in theory, “it’s often difficult, if not impossible, to measure and compare the values of certain benefits
and costs.” Utilitarianism may also fail to address the concept of unjust actions such as lying or coercion to
justify possible outcomes (Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, 2023; Providence College, 2023).

The rights approach—deontology. This is an approach to moral theory that focuses on principles, such as
respect for individual rights, rather than on the consequences of our actions. Immanuel Kant, one of the lead-
ing philosophers of deontology, argued that each person has a dignity that calls for respect. He believed that
individuals should be treated as an end unto themselves and not as a means to an end by another person.
Kant also espoused the “categorical imperative,” which he formulates as follows: “Act only according to that
maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law” (Markkula Center for
Applied Ethics, 2023; Mintz & Miller, 2023; Providence College, 2023).

The fairness approach. Justice is traditionally defined as giving each person what he or she deserves. Jus-
tice and fairness are closely related and often used interchangeably. The notion of being treated as one de-
serves is crucial to both justice and fairness. When conflicts of justice or fairness arise, we need principles that
all can accept as reasonable and fair standards for what people deserve. Aristotle defined justice as a princi-
ple where “equals should be treated equally and unequals unequally.” For example, if a man and woman do
the same work, they should be paid equally. Different theories focus on different forms or domains of justice.
For example, distributive justice evaluates the fairness of how important benefits and burdens are distributed
in society. Compensatory justice considers the fairness of compensation to those who are injured by those

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who have injured them. Retributive justice evaluates the fairness of punishments for crimes or other trans-
gressions, considering the crime’s severity, intent of the criminal, etc. (Markkula Center for Applied Ethics,
2023; Providence College, 2023).

The common good approach. This focuses on having a society and institutions that strive to benefit all peo-
ple. For example, a society’s accessible healthcare, public safety, just legal system, environmental protection,
and economic prosperity might all be considered part of a system that affects the common good. Achieving
and maintaining the common good requires collective efforts but certain obstacles hinder this endeavor such
as living in a pluralistic society. Pluralistic societies encompass differing values and priorities, making it a chal-
lenge to agree on common goals. There is a “free-rider” problem because some people benefit from the com-
mon good without contributing. Additionally, a culture that emphasizes individualism can make it difficult to
convince people to sacrifice personal interests for the common good. Lastly, unequal sharing of burdens can
arise when certain groups or individuals bear disproportionately heavy costs to maintain the common good
(Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, 2023).

The virtue approach. Virtue ethics characterizes a moral life not by the outcomes or principles behind individ-
ual actions, but rather by the habits and traits of character that define human excellence. These can include
the cardinal virtues of classical thinkers such as Plato (wisdom, courage, temperance, and justice). The virtue
approach emphasizes the role of community in shaping character traits. Virtues are attitudes, dispositions or
character traits that enable us to be virtuous or attain certain ideals such as excellence or dedication to the
common good. Virtues are developed through learning and practice. Communities, including family, church,
and school, influence individuals’ values and personality traits. Virtues become ingrained habits in an indi-
vidual and guide their behavior. The virtuous person can be seen as an ethical person (Markkula Center for
Applied Ethics, 2023; Mintz & Miller, 2023; Providence College, 2023).

The care ethics approach. Care ethics places care at the center of ethical thinking, which values human
relationships, recognizes human codependence, and acknowledges the significance of emotions. Psycholo-
gist Carol Gilligan’s work in the 1980s marked an early articulation of care ethics. She argued that women
often employ a “different voice” of care that considers relationships and contextual nuances. Care also exists
in various cultural traditions, “including African communitarian views, Indigenous worldviews, Confucianism,
and Buddhism.” Care ethics also emphasizes the importance of healthy, reciprocal relationships and extends
beyond personal bonds; it acknowledges that all individuals require care to flourish, even healthy adults. Un-
like approaches that solely rely on reason, care ethics values both emotions and the body. While not all emo-

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tions are equally valuable, care highlights emotions such as empathy and compassion (Markkula Center for
Applied Ethics, 2023).

Your Assignment

You have been commissioned to provide an ethical analysis of the worker productivity monitoring issue, ulti-
mately leading to a recommendation to ABC, Inc. as to whether the company should implement one of these
tracking systems. ABC, Inc. is a well-known and highly successful professional services firm that will have no
issue paying to implement this software on all company-issued equipment. In C-Suite level meetings, there
has been debate as to whether the installation of this software will be beneficial. You have interviewed ex-
ecutives at ABC, Inc. and there are a multitude of opinions as to whether the company would benefit from
this system and increase overall profitability. Some believe that forcing employees to be tracked will ensure
that they stay on-task during the day, while others believe that these systems create a workplace culture that
breeds discontent and distrust. Certain executives are concerned that an overly aggressive monitoring system
that penalizes employees might “backfire,” as described in Thiel et al. (2022), and might even contribute to
increased employee turnover, which has been observed in many companies. For example, Thiel et al. (2022)
reported that “monitored employees were substantially more likely to take unapproved breaks, disregard in-
structions, damage workplace property, steal office equipment, and purposefully work at a slow pace, among
other rule-breaking behaviors.”

Discussion Questions

1. What broad ethical issues, if any, are associated with employee productivity monitoring?
2. Should ABC, Inc. install software to track employee productivity?
3. If ABC decides to install the software, what communications, if any, should be sent out to employees?
What capabilities should the software have? In other words, what metrics should the company track?
What penalties might be included for inadequate performance (e.g., reduction in pay)?
4. If ABC does not decide to install the software, provide a rationale why.
5. If ABC does not decide to install the software, how might the company ensure that cyberslacking
does not become a major cost for the company? What alternatives exist to ensure employees stay
on-task?

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Further Reading

Henle, C. A., Kohut, G., & Booth, R. (2009). Designing electronic use policies to enhance employee percep-
tions of fairness and to reduce cyberloafing: An empirical test of justice theory. Computers in Human Behav-
ior, 25(4), 902–910.

Jiang, H., Zhang, J., & Zheng, X. (2023). How external monitoring can mitigate cyberloafing: understanding
the mediating and moderating roles of employees’ self-control. Behaviour & Information Technology, DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929X.2023.2249110

Koay, K.-Y., & Chin-Hooi Soh, P. (2018). Should cyberloafing be allowed in the workplace?Human Resource
Management International Digest, 26(7), 4–6.

Ngowella, G. D., Loua, L. R., & Suharnomo, S. (2022). A review on cyberloafing: The effects of social plat-
forms on work performance. Asia Pacific Fraud Journal, 7(1), 27–39.

Saleh, M., Daqqa, I., AbdulRahim, M. B., & Sakallah, N. (2018). The effect of cyberloafing on employee pro-
ductivity. International Journal of Advanced and Applied Sciences, 5(4), 87–92.

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Coate, P. (2021, January25). Remote work before, during, and after the pandemic. NCCI Holdings, Inc.
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Corbyn, Z. (2022, April27). The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/apr/27/remote-

work-software-home-surveillance-computer-monitoring-pandemic

Darden, D. (2015, June25). Time wasting activities within the workplace (don’t be a part of them). Working
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Kenton, W. (2021, December9). Cyberslacking. Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/cyber-

slacking.asp

Lim, V. (2002, August5). The IT way of loafing on the job: Cyberloafing, neutralizing, and organizational jus-
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Mintz, S., & Miller, W. (2023). Ethical obligations and decision making in accounting. McGraw-Hill LLC.

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you can do about it. North Bay Business Journal. https://www.northbaybusinessjournal.com/article/special-
sections/working-remotely-carries-cybersecurity-risks-for-companies-heres-what-you/

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Thiel, C., Bonner, J. M., Bush, J., Welsh, D., & Garud, N. (2022, June27). Monitoring employees makes them
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them-more-likely-to-break-rules

Ugrin, J., Pearson, J., & Nickle, S. (2018, February). An examination of the relationship between culture and
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15332861.2018.1424395

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