Topic: Organizational Citizenship Behavior, Ethics, Gender
Publication: Journal of Applied Psychology (DEC 2010)
Article: Fostering good citizenship through ethical leadership: Exploring the moderating role of gender and organizational politics.
Authors: Michele Kacmar, Daniel Bachrach, Kenneth Harris, and Suzanne Zivnuska
Reviewed By: Bobby Bullock
Kacmar, Bachrach, Harris, and Zivnuska (2010) sought to expand on ethical leadership research by examining its relationship with organizational citizenship behavior. First, they examined the direct relationship between ethical leadership (honest, fair, and transparent leadership) and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB- prosocial behavior at work such as helping fellow employees with difficult tasks). The results of their blanket study indicated that the presence of ethical leadership in an organization led to higher rates of OCB. This showed that when employees feel indebted to ethical leaders, they may seek to “repay” them with OCB. If it were that simple it would be great- make sure leaders act ethically and you could create a positive, prosocial work environment just like that! Things aren’t always so simple, as we find out in the latter parts of their study.
However straightforward the above findings are, they do not take into account various social and political factors that are present in most workplaces. Here’s where things get interesting. Employee gender roles and perceptions of organizational politics (POP- an employee’s perception of the political environment of their workplace, whereby high POP would indicate a politicized work environment where employees act selfishly and are motivated by self-interest) can influence the strength and direction of the above relationship. In terms of gender roles, social role theory (SRT) suggests that men engage in OCBs in part to increase their status and further their careers. In contrast, SRT would indicate that women engage in OCBs in part because of stronger social orientations and the desire to strengthen bonds with fellow coworkers.
Of course, regardless of sex, some individuals are inclined to enhance their own status while others are more focused on maintaining strong social bonds.
When looking at POP through SRT, Kacmar et al. (2010) observed some interesting outcomes. Their results showed the following:
- In high POP work environments, women displayed significantly less OCB than in low POP work environments. For example, when the workplace is politically charged (high POP), employees are more likely to react to OCB with caution (e.g., “What are your true motives for helping me??”). Therefore, motivation by women to use OCB as a means to strengthen bonds would be ineffective and was shown to be less prevalent than in work environments that were more transparent and straightforward.
- In high POP work environments, men displayed significantly more OCBs than in low POP work environments. For example, male employees saw OCBs as opportunities to gain status and stand apart from fellow employees in politicized and highly competitive environments (high POP). But in low POP environments, where there was more transparency in the performance evaluation process, men expected to gain less from helping their coworkers and displayed less OCB.
The main points behind this research are that ethical leadership and organizational context can have profound impacts on prevalence of OCB, both in general and amongst subgroups. This research has strong implications for business according to Kacmar et al. (2010):
- Because males were more likely to display OCB in environments that maximized their self-benefit, it would be wise for ethical leaders to go to whatever lengths necessary to convince them that OCBs are important and will be noticed (e.g., through recognition, rewards, or as part of a performance review process).
- Because female employees were more likely to respond to ethical leadership/environments with OCB, leaders should behave as ethically as possible, especially in highly politicized work environments. Honest, transparent, and self-reflective leadership, while difficult in practice, will lead to sustainable benefits and reduce burnout in the long-run.
