Social Media Bullying in the Workplace and Its Impact on Work Engagement: A Case of Psychological Well-Being

Using Job Demands–Resources Theory to Predict Work–Life Balance among Academicians in Private Universities in Egypt during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Employers are divided into those who support their employees to achieve work–life balance and others who believe that employees should devote anything in their life to fulfilling work obligations. Employees in different occupations struggle to balance their work and life adequately. Especially during the pandemic, the barriers between work and life diminished. This study proposes that self-efficacy could be a potential moderator under personal resources. Drawing on the Job Demands–Resources Theory (JD–R) and Conservation of Resources Theory (COR), this study empirically tested the role of emotional demands and supervisor support in predicting the academicians’ perception of work–life balance in Egypt during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected from 504 academicians employed in the top 10 private universities in Egypt. Results reveal that emotional demands and supervisor support were related to work–life balance. Self-efficacy moderated the relationship between supervisor support and work–life balance. However, self-efficacy did not moderate the relationship between emotional demands and work–life balance. Our findings provide new insights, contribute to the literature on the work–life balance topic among academicians during the pandemic, and enhance the universities’ understanding of implementing strategies to help achieve a work–life balance.

Cyberbullying on social media under the influence of COVID‐19

The sudden emergence of the COVID‐19 pandemic has introduced new norms largely revolving around the use of social media, disrupting the mentality of Internet users, especially the youth, resulting in an increase in cyberbullying. The rise in the popularity of many apps that facilitate online interactions has increased the risk of cyberbullying incidents. Not only did the COVID‐19 pandemic transform social life, work, and education towards online modes of interaction, but it has also contributed to the ongoing digitization of bullying. As work moved to the home, so did bullying. This study aims to understand how the COVID‐19 pandemic, which affects social media usage, increases the incidence of cyberbullying. We tested our hypotheses using a sample of 200 Malaysian participants. The results showed that the relationship between the COVID‐19 pandemic's influence and cyberbullying was significant. However, we failed to find any statistical evidence that gender moderates this relationship. This study found an increase in cyberbullying incidents resulting from the increased use of social media due to the COVID‐19 pandemic's influence. Our findings contribute to the body of knowledge on the prevalence of cyberbullying in Malaysia, which may benefit future research.