Slacking Through Slots: Amplifying Factors for Problem Gambling’s Negative Effects on Job Performance Through Gambling-Specific Cyberloafing

AbstractIntroduction: Previous research has found problem gambling predicts decreased job performance, with this relationship being mediated by online gambling at work, known as gambling-specific cyberloafing. To determine amplifying factors for work-related impairment, our study extended these findings with a moderated mediation model. Method: In a secondary analysis, 104 employed gamblers (50.0% women, average age: 37.0) completed a cross-sectional survey including measures assessing demographics, problem gambling, gambling-specific cyberloafing, and job performance. We used moderated mediation analyses to explore two relationships: (1) whether socioeconomic status (education and income) strengthens the relationship between problem gambling and gambling-specific cyberloafing, and (2) whether coping motives for gambling intensify the relationship between gambling-specific cyberloafing and job performance. Results: Findings revealed low income, but not education, moderated the indirect effect of problem gambling on job performance through gambling-specific cyberloafing. Specifically, low income interacted with problem gambling to predict increased gambling-specific cyberloafing. Coping motives did not significantly moderate the indirect effect, yet the negative association between gambling-specific cyberloafing and job performance was significant at high levels of coping motives. Sensitivity analyses confirmed findings were specific to gambling-specific cyberloafing, rather than cyberloafing in general. Discussion: Our results implicate low income and high coping motives as amplifying factors for problem gambling’s associated work-related impairment. Specifically, low income increases the propensity for problem gamblers to engage in gambling-specific cyberloafing, and coping motives intensify gambling-specific cyberloafing’s negative effects on job performance. These amplifying factors should be targeted in workplace interventions and policies surrounding problem gambling.