SOCIAL MEDIA IN THE WORKPLACE: EXPLORING THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN ENGAGEMENT, CYBERLOAFING, AND JOB PERFORMANCE USING STRUCTURAL EQUATION MODELING

The increasing prevalence of social media in the workplace raises significant concerns, as it is essential to explore its potential impact on both employee productivity and behavior. This study examines the relationship between social media usage (SMU) in an organizational context, employee engagement, cyberloafing, and job performance. The study employs the Uses and Gratifications Theory (UGT) in the effort to describe how employees utilize social media within a workplace and personal context and how their behaviors impact their participation and performance. This quantitative study used a well-structured questionnaire to gather data from 223 employees of higher education in Pakistan. The findings indicate that SMU at work enhances job performance (β = 0.268, p = 0.000) and employee engagement (β = 0.654, p = 0.000). Employee engagement, on the other hand, significantly enhances job performance (β = 0.508, p = 0.000) and mediates the effect of SMU on performance (β = 0.332, p = 0.000). Cyberloafing, unworked-related SMU, yet has a negative moderating effect (β = -0.130, p = 0.000) on the relationship, indicating a negative impact on productivity. The research specifies the dual-edged role of social media in the workplace. While enabling teamwork and engagement, overuse for personal purposes can undermine performance. Organizations are advised to implement policies that favor productive SMU but against cyberloafing. By stimulating engagement and avoiding cyberloafing, firms are able to capitalize on social media and suppress its risks. The findings provide a guidance manual for policymakers and managers as they pursue optimal use of digital tools in the changing workplace environment. Keywords: Social Media Usage at Work, Employee Engagement, Cyberloafing, Job Performance, Digital Communication, SEM Model