Understanding organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) have been an important part of understanding job performance. OCBs are defined as actions employees take to go “above and beyond” their regular job to help meet the needs of coworkers and company. In an effort to continue building the theoretical bridge between OCBs and performance, Ozer (2011) discovered that the quality of coworker relationships (called team member exchange; TMX) explains the relationship between OCBs and performance, but only for OCBs directed toward individuals, such as providing encouragement, extra help, or advice. The author also found that this relationship depends on the amount of autonomy an employee has.
How does this research benefit organizations? A steady bridge to increased performance can be built when we use findings like these together. Understanding how individual differences, social interactions, and environmental conditions form the planks in our theoretical bridge. It is the only way to cross the ravine of poor performance.
Ozer, M. (2011). A moderated mediation model of the relationship between organizational citizenship behaviors and job performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 96(6), 1328–1336.
Image credit: istockphoto/PeopleImages