Supervisor Phubbing and Nurses' Cyberloafing Behavior: The Mediating Role of Clan Culture in Digitally Enabled Work Environments.

BACKGROUND

Digital technology overuse in healthcare settings has introduced new forms of workplace disruption, including supervisor phubbing, defined as the act of diverting attention from subordinates to mobile devices. Supervisor phubbing may be associated with nurses' cyberloafing behavior, while the organizational cultural context may influence this relationship.

AIM: To examine the association between supervisor phubbing and nurses' cyberloafing behavior and to investigate the mediating role of clan organizational culture in this relationship.

METHODS

A cross-sectional correlational study was conducted among 520 nurses from four university hospitals in Egypt. Data were collected using standardized and psychometrically validated self-report instruments measuring supervisor phubbing, cyberloafing behavior, and perceived clan culture. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the hypothesized mediation model by estimating direct and indirect associations among the study variables.

RESULTS

Nurses reported moderate levels of perceived supervisor phubbing, cyberloafing behavior, and clan culture. Supervisor phubbing was positively associated with cyberloafing behavior. Clan culture was also significantly associated with both supervisor phubbing and cyberloafing behavior and statistically mediated the association between supervisor phubbing and cyberloafing. These findings suggest that higher perceptions of clan culture are associated with a weaker relationship between supervisor phubbing and cyberloafing behavior.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings indicate that supervisor phubbing is associated with higher levels of cyberloafing behavior among nurses and that clan culture statistically mediates this relationship. Given the cross-sectional design, these findings should be interpreted as associative rather than causal. Longitudinal studies are warranted to confirm the temporal ordering of these relationships.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: Nursing managers should foster a clan-oriented organizational culture and encourage appropriate supervisory digital behavior and relational leadership practices. Although causal inferences cannot be drawn, these strategies may contribute to healthier workplace relationships and may be associated with lower levels of cyberloafing behavior among nurses.