While this might sound a little dramatic, Evelyn Cotter, CEO of Seven Career Coaching, agrees that cyberloafing is a red flag for something more serious than just an addiction to online shopping.

“Cyberloafing is a compulsive behaviour for many people,” she tells Stylist. “It’s an attempt to replace something that we’re lacking, but we never get that ‘filled-up’ feeling. So it just goes on and on with the empty promise of replacing the things we actually want, like a fulfilling work day or a career in an industry we’re passionate about.”

Describing the habit as a “slippery slope”, Cotter says the open, flexible environments of modern workplaces combined with the fact that most of us use social media and the internet in our jobs, means we can slip into an “almost catatonic state” of internet browsing.

To counteract this, Cotter adds that we need to be fully engaged and passionate about our work.

“Keep your focus on the value you want to add to your role and company as a whole, in line with your bigger career vision,” she says. “If you’re authentically driven by what you’re doing, you can ensure your performance at work is your priority.”

What is cyberloafing and how is it affecting your career?