The association between phubbing in the workplace context, organizational behaviours and psychological outcomes: a systematic review and meta-analysis

The topic of phubbing in the workplace context has garnered significant attention in academic studies since the early 2020s; however, due to its inherently interdisciplinary scope, research remains fragmented and lacks cohesion, resulting in unresolved questions. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to examine the association between phubbing behaviours in the workplace and key organizational variables, and to explore their relationship with individuals’ psychological outcomes. All studies using quantitative designs of phubbing in the workplace context were included. A total of 21 studies met the inclusion criteria (n = 8485 employees). The results of the systematic review employed two perspectives to analyse and integrate core concepts pertaining to workplace phubbing behaviours: perceived phubbing and its associated variables, as well as enacted phubbing and its related variables. Results from the random-effects meta-analysis indicated that the weighted average correlation between higher levels of perceived phubbing and organizational and psychological outcomes, such as positive leadership dimensions and engagement, was statistically significant. This approach provides a comprehensive analysis of the existing literature and sheds light on complexities inherent in fragmented theoretical frameworks regarding workplace phubbing. Furthermore, this study proposes a research agenda to advance inquiry in this field and discusses the practical implications.