EXAMINING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF-CONTROL AND CYBERLOAFING BEHAVIOR AS AN EFFECT ON EMPLOYEES JOB PERFORMANCE IN CAMEROON

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

With technological developments, especially the internet, which is getting easier for everyone to use anywhere, at any time, and with more speed, information and communication are becoming more useful for everyday life. Technology will keep changing because it will adapt to what people want. However, Cameroonians use the internet more in many areas of their lives, from work and business to leisure (Sudarso et al., 2020). Every year, more and more people(old and young) in Cameroon connect to the internet. This also mean that 77.02% of people in  Cameroon have access to the internet (Karin et al., 2022; Nurbayzura et al., 2022). Furthermore, the internet is one of the most important things that many businesses need to get things done these days. At this point in time, the internet can be more useful for people who do business online, especially when they have to do some business transaction online. This can make things easier, like getting digital goods ready to sell, making websites, advertising on different social media sites, and selling things automatically through websites or e-commerce that are already busy. As part of e-commerce, funds or electronic money may be transferred during transactions. Electronic data exchange and data collection tools are also common. Technology has made it easier to buy and sell everything (Kwilinski et al., 2019; Sridhar, 2018). Additionally, companies and organizations give their employees a lot of good things, like computers and Wi-Fi. However, in companies that do business online, every employee has to know about the latest trend, and some employees have to know about it all the time. Check out a few different places on social media or the web. A business can do better by making a website, which can lead to more sales, better customer service, and faster information for customers (Infante & Mardikaningsih, 2022; Le et al., 2022). But there must be someone who controls how the internet is used behind its use, since it's something that many people and businesses need. A worker's addition to a company or group determines whether the group moves forward or backward (Gupta et al., 2018). The company's growth is affected by several things, one of which is is employee performance. Additionally, the work that an employee does for a company shows how to do something to reach an organization's goal in line with the agreed-upon corporate plan. Putting employees in the right situation to get the most out of their work done is a big part of making sure that employee performance is high in a business or organization (Farooqui & Nagendra, 2018). Besides that, one of the most important things to make the right conditions is for each employee to have self-control. If an employee uses the internet at work, he or she should be able to self-control because otherwise might start cyberloafing. The term ‘ cyberloafing’ is a form of departure, it means that an employee uses the company's internet for something other than work during work hours, or they use work time to go on the internet for personal reasons.Similarly, cyberloafing is when workers use the internet for personal reasons during work hours while getting paid for it. This kind of business behavior is caused by how quickly and widely digital communication tools have been used to make progress. When people act in this way, new information technologies, especially the Internet and web technologies, play a big role. Beyond that, employees can lose focus when they are cyberloafing at work, and it takes them time and energy to get back to their main task. This can cause the employees to make mistakes more likely at work (Ross, 2018). Meanwhile, Stokel-Walker (2020) asserts that people switch from their jobs to personal email, social networking, and reading. Another fact is that six out of ten workers say they can't make it through the workday without checking social media. The Facebook app takes the most time to use than any other social media site. Therefore, self-control is important because it helps a person control their actions and emotions in different situations. This makes them disciplined and able to get along with others, especially coworkers in a business or organization. Hence, a survey will be conducted in order to examine the relationship between self-control and cyberloafing behavior as an effect on employees job performance in Cameroon. 

1.2 Statement of the Problem

In recent years, Cameroon, like with many other countries, has experienced a significant growth in digital technology and the widespread use of the internet. Although these technological improvements provide various advantages in terms of communication, information dissemination, and effectiveness, they also pose distinct issues regarding employee conduct and productivity. Employees, who are given the duty of providing crucial services, are not exempt from the allure of cyberloafing. Similarly, any elements that influence the efficiency and effectiveness of employees can have substantial consequences on the provision of services and the overall management of the organization. Furthermore, the effects of cyberloafing have an impact that goes beyond individual employees and affects the whole dynamics and outcomes of the business (Feng, 2018). Because of this, experts stressed that cyberloafing is one of the biggest problems that management of organization face that goes unnoticed and unreported. It was thought (Buntarangin &   Frantzen, 2022) that cyberloafing is more common in government organizations than in private ones. For example, a study of cyberloafing among Filipino government workers in Malaysia found that 71% of those working had done it in the last five years, and 6% of those workers said their bosses had seen them do it more than once (Koay & Soh, 2019). The current literature on cyberloafing among employees is pretty slim, especially when it comes to the effect of cyberloafing behaviour on employees performance.Thus, it is in the light of these that the study seeks to examine the relationship between self-control and cyberloafing behavior as an effect on employees job performance in Cameroon. 

1.3  Objectives of the Study

The main purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between self-control and cyberloafing behavior as an effect on employees job performance in Cameroon.  Specifically, the study will;

1.Determine the prevalence of cyberloafing behavior among employees in Cameroon.

3.Determine whether there is a relationship between self-control and cyberloafing behavior.

4. Assess the impact of cyberloafing behavior on employees job performance in Cameroon.

1.4 Research Questions

The following questions have been prepared for the study:

What is the prevalence of cyberloafing behavior among employees in Cameroon?

Is there a relationship between self-control and cyberloafing behavior among employees in Cameroon?

What is the impact of cyberloafing behavior on employees' job performance in Cameroon?

1.5  Research Hypotheses

H0: There is no significant relationship between self-control and cyberloafing behavior as an effect on employees job performance in Cameroon. 

Ha: There is a significant relationship between self-control and cyberloafing behavior as an effect on employees job performance in Cameroon. 

1.6  Significance of the Study

The study outcomes will comprehensively explore cyberloafing, offering guidance for employees to self-regulate and address associated challenges. Moreover, it will illustrate to employees the diverse outcomes of cyberloafing, both advantageous and detrimental, contingent upon their actions and behaviors. Furthermore, businesses can utilize the findings to mitigate the negative impacts of cyberloafing, enabling many companies to establish internet usage policies in the workplace. Additionally, subsequent researchers will use it as a literature review. This means that other students who may decide to conduct studies in this area will have the opportunity to use this study as available literature that can be subjected to critical review. Invariably, the result of the study contributes immensely to the body of academic knowledge with regard to the relationship between self-control and cyberloafing behavior as an effect on employees job performance in Cameroon. 

1.7 Scope of the study

The scope of this study is boarded on the relationship between self-control and cyberloafing behavior as an effect on employees job performance in Cameroon.  Empirically, the study will determine the prevalence of cyberloafing behavior among employees in Cameroon, determine the level of self-control among employees in Cameroon, determine whether there is a relationship between self-control and cyberloafing behavior and assess the impact of self-control and cyberloafing behavior as an effect on employees job performance in Cameroon.

Geographically, the study will be delimited to  civil servants in Limbe, Cameroon.

1.8 Limitation of the study

In the course of carrying out this study, the researcher experienced some constraints, which included time constraints, financial constraints, language barriers, and the attitude of the respondents. In addition, there was the element of researcher bias. Here, the researcher possessed some biases that may have been reflected in the way the data was collected, the type of people interviewed or sampled, and how the data gathered was interpreted thereafter. The potential for all this to influence the findings and conclusions could not be downplayed. More so, the findings of this study are limited to the sample population in the study area, hence they may not be suitable for use in comparison to other schools, local governments, states, and other countries in the world.

 1.9 Definition of Terms

Employee: a person employed for wages or salary.

Productivity: the state or quality of being productive. It is the effectiveness of productive effort, especially in an organization, as measured in terms of the rate of output per unit of input.

Cyberloafing: is a terminology which can be described as the action of employees who use the internet for non-work related activities or personal use during their working hours while pretending to do official work.