Personal use of technology at work: a literature review and a theoretical model for understanding how it affects employee job performance

Abstract

Employee personal use of technology at work (PUTW)–defined as employees’ activities using organisational or personal IT resources for non-work-related purposes while at work–is increasingly common. Our review of existing PUTW studies (n = 137) suggests that previous studies widely discussed PUTW outcomes, antecedents, and policies. The literature review also indicates that previous studies proposed opposing viewpoints regarding the effect of PUTW on employee job performance, but few studies offered empirical evidence. Consequently, the conditions under which PUTW can increase or decrease employee job performance have not been discussed. We develop a theoretical model for increasing the understanding of this issue. Our model suggests that executive attention is an important underlying mechanism through which PUTW affects employee job performance. We further suggest the effect of PUTW on executive attention (and job performance) depends on PUTW behavioural characteristics in terms of four dimensions: PUTW cognitive load, PUTW arousal level, PUTW timing, and PUTW frequency/duration. The model can advance researchers’ understanding of the possible conditions under which PUTW may increase or decrease employee job performance. The model also offers new insights into existing studies on PUTW antecedents and policies. As a result, our proposed model provides new theoretical guidance for future studies on PUTW.