(Cyberloafing: A Research on Group A Travel Agencies in Ankara)

Abstract

Purpose – The study was carried out in order to reveal whether the employees working in Group A travel agencies in Ankara exhibited cyberloafing behaviors through social media tools. For this purpose, the views of the travel agency managers regarding the subject were obtained and their views regarding the cyberloafing behaviors of their employees were asked. Design/methodology/approach – Within the scope of this study, which was completed according to qualitative research design, questions were asked to the travel agency managers through an open-ended questionnaire form. In this regard, the interviews were completed with 12 travel agency managers between 10/09/2019 and 25/12/2019. The reason for preferring face-to-face interview technique was that the views of the travel agency managers or owners were obtained in a more understandable manner during face-to-face interviews. Findings – In the research, it was understood that the employees working in the travel agencies generally usedsuch applications as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Yahoo. It was revealed that all the employees working in the related agencies used social media tools during working hours. The general opinion regarding the time spent by the employees on social media was between 0-2 h ours. T hey s tated t hat the use of such applications out of workinghourswas regarded as normal and this played a significant role in increasing the motivation of the employees. It was also expressed that they were especially more flexible as the enterprises had their own social media accounts. In addition to this, some managersemphasized that they did not find cyberloafing acceptableand therefore, they warned the employees when they saw them using during working hours. Discussion – According to the results of the research, it was understood that the employees working in the travel agencies exhibited cyberloafing behaviors during working hours and that they performed these behaviors by using such social media tools as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube and personal e-mail addresses. It is recommended that the managers are required to advise their employees not to perform cyberloafing behaviors in the workplace or perform so in a controlled manner.