Interviews with members of a Chinese online work community show how non-work internet use can reflect conflicts over rest, control and responsibility.
This article examines cyberslacking—the use of work time for online activities not directly related to one’s job—in contemporary China. Drawing on interviews with 35 members of a Douban group, it argues that cyberslacking is not always treated simply as individual misconduct but can reflect conflicts over who controls workers’ time.
The researchers identify three forces that give time a moral meaning at work: treating time as a source of money, presenting workplace monitoring as an ethical duty, and stigmatizing rest. They describe two contrasting views of cyberslacking: “time theft,” which organizations may seek to regulate, and “energy recovery,” in which workers use short breaks online to restore themselves while still recognizing their work responsibilities.
How slacking is judged
The researchers identify three connected ways workplace time becomes morally judged: time is monetized, workplace surveillance is treated as an ethical obligation, and rest is stigmatized. Together, these ideas link money, labor and time in a value system that shapes how cyberslacking is viewed.
The study distinguishes between avoidant cyberslacking and adjustive cyberslacking. Organizations typically portray avoidant cyberslacking as “time theft”—an illegitimate use of paid work time. Adjustive cyberslacking, by contrast, recognizes work obligations while using online activity as a short-term way to restore energy. These differing views create a tension between organizational efficiency and workers’ autonomy, as workers negotiate what they owe their employers under close control of their time.
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Humanities and Social Sciences Communications · 2026 · DOI: 10.1057/s41599-026-08602-0
Authors: Xiao Chen, Chaojin Wu
Institutions: Xi'an University of Technology, Huazhong Agricultural University
