Working in a virtual world: A meta-analytic investigation of cyber mistreatment in the workplace

To address the challenges of an increasingly remote workforce, there is an urgent need for organizations to understand the precursors and consequences of workplace cyber mistreatment. The present systematic review consolidates the empirical research on workplace cyber mistreatment with the goals of a) providing a cohesive term and definition for cyber mistreatment; b) estimating the magnitude and direction of associations within cyber mistreatment's nomological network; and c) exploring the relative importance of cyber and face-to-face (F2F) mistreatment in predicting employee outcomes. Utilizing a systematic search of databases, conference proceedings, and references of relevant papers in September 2023, we identified and independently double-coded 43 samples (N = 19,642) of working adults that reported experienced cyber mistreatment at the individual level. The results of random-effects psychometric meta-analyses identified numerous antecedents of cyber mistreatment, including age, gender, neuroticism, support, and work demands, among others. Furthermore, cyber mistreatment predicted both employee behaviors and well-being outcomes, including deviance, F2F mistreatment, burnout, and job satisfaction, among others. Lastly, the results of relative weights analyses were largely counter to expectations in that F2F mistreatment typically accounted for more explained variance than cyber mistreatment. Some limitations include the strong correlation between cyber and F2F mistreatment and the inability to assess many contextual factors. The current research not only provides construct clarity about cyber mistreatment, but also enhances our understanding of the nomological network of this construct, thereby informing future research and interventions geared towards mitigating cyber mistreatment. •Consolidated terms and definitions of cyber mistreatment at work.•Meta-analytically identified magnitude and direction of associations with cyber mistreatment.•Unexpectedly, face-to-face mistreatment was typically a stronger predictor than cyber mistreatment.•Measures of cyber and face-to-face mistreatment were strongly related.