Reduce employees' cyberloafing: Insights from role stress when working with generative AI tools

Cyberloafing, a discreet yet pervasive workplace issue, is exacerbated by the increasing adoption of generative AI tools. While these technologies enhance efficiency, they also introduce role stress of role conflict, role ambiguity, and role overload that may drive employees toward cyberloafing. However, effective mitigation strategies of buffering stress and reducing cyberloafing remain unclear. This study, grounded in role theory and job demand-resource theory, examines how to alleviate role stress and reduce cyberloafing. A 2×2 experimental design, combined with ANOVA and regression analyses, reveals that task complexity significantly increases role conflict, but emotional support buffers this effect. Additionally, all three role stress contribute to cyberloafing, though transformational leadership moderates only the impact of role overload. These findings provide actionable insights for managing role stress and enhancing AI-supported workplace productivity.