The Impact of Workplace Gossip on Cyberloafing: Mediating Roles of Psychological Capital and Workplace Cynicism in Pakistan’s HealthCare Sector

Abstract

This quantitative, cross-sectional study examines how negative workplace gossip leads to counterproductive work behavior, specifically cyberloafing, among corporate employees in Islamabad, Pakistan. Grounded in Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, the study proposes a sequential mediation model in which the relationship between workplace gossip (independent variable) and cyberloafing (dependent variable) operates through employees’ Psychological Capital (PsyCap) and Workplace Cynicism. Data were collected from 171 employees working in the Healthcare sector. The findings strongly support the proposed model. Results show that negative workplace gossip functions as a resource-depleting stressor that significantly reduces employees’ Psychological Capital. This reduction in PsyCap then increases feelings of workplace cynicism, which ultimately leads to higher levels of cyberloafing. The sequential indirect effect of workplace gossip on cyberloafing through PsyCap and workplace cynicism was found to be statistically significant. From a theoretical perspective, this study supports the COR theory’s resource loss spiral by demonstrating its applicability in a non-Western, high-context cultural setting. In doing so, it extends the cross-cultural validity of COR theory in explaining digital forms of counterproductive work behavior. Practically, the findings highlight the need for managerial interventions that strengthen employees’ Psychological Capital through Positive Organizational Behavior initiatives and rebuild organizational trust to reduce workplace cynicism, thereby limiting behaviors such as cyberloafing.