Organizational deviance via social networking site use: The roles of inhibition, stress and sex differences

Abstract

Organizational deviance via social networking sites (SNS) use, including for example using SNS instead of working, is a common phenomenon with possible negative implications for individuals and organizations. This study seeks to examine its antecedents as a means to point to future interventions. It draws on cognitive-neuroscience models of problematic behavior and suggests that organizational deviance via SNS use can be associated with low inhibition abilities and high stress. Consistent with the stress and problematic behavior literatures it further suggests that there are sex-based differences in people's organizational deviance by using an SNS and in their responses to stress. Findings based on time-lagged data from 321 SNS users suggest that while stress drives organizational deviance via SNS use, SNS-specific use inhibition abilities diminish this behavior. While there were no sex-based differences in organizational deviance via SNS use, men responded to stress by engaging in more organizational deviance via SNS use compared to women. The findings point to similarities and differences between organizational deviance via SNS use and other problematic behaviors; and suggest that researchers and therapists can focus on stress and inhibition abilities, while considering sex-based differences, when attempting to curtail problematic SNS use behaviors.