The effect of cyberloafing on employee performance: The mediating role of work engagement among public higher education institutions in Ethiopia

This study examines the impact of cyberloafing on employee performance in public higher education institutions (HEIs), focusing on the mediating role of work engagement. Using an explanatory quantitative research design, structured questionnaires were administered to 332 administrative staff members from public HEIs in the Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia, who were proportionally and randomly selected. The reliability and validity of the measurement instruments were rigorously assessed before hypothesis testing. Data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS software. The findings indicate that cyberloafing has a statistically significant negative effect on both work engagement and employee performance, while work engagement positively and significantly influences employee performance. Moreover, work engagement partially mediates the relationship between cyberloafing and employee performance. This study fills a gap in the literature by revealing the psychological mechanism through which cyberloafing influences employee performance via work engagement, thereby contributing to the limited empirical research on cyberloafing in public higher education institutions (HEIs)