When employees go above and beyond at work, we like to imagine that they go that extra mile because of personal strength or drive. For many years though, it was believed that employees displayed organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) because they expected some sort form of payback down the line. But will employees still go that extra mile if nobody noticed their good deeds? According to a recent study (Korsgaard et al., 2010) the answer is yes.
EMPLOYEES GOING THE EXTRA MILE
The researchers explained that OCB can be provoked by either expected reciprocity or the obligation to reciprocate. Expected reciprocity happens when people engage in helpful behavior out of self interest because they expect the favor to be returned in the future (i.e., “I’ll scratch your back because I know you will scratch mine later”). An obligation to reciprocate occurs when individuals act to benefit others out of an obligation to “pay back” a previous favor (i.e., “You scratched my back, now I’ll scratch yours”). While the former is motivated by self-interest, the latter is motivated by “other-interest.” The study’s findings suggest that people who are other-oriented are more likely to return favors even when nobody is watching. On the other hand, people who are lower in other-orientation (and thus more self-interested) are more likely to display OCB only when their good deeds can be observed and will lead to future benefits.
PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS
Based on these findings, organizations can take at least two approaches to increasing OCB in the workplace:
- Create a meaningful or pleasant atmosphere that instills a sense of psychological obligation in its workers. This should lead to more OCB, as individuals who are high in other-orientation will seek to “return the favor.”
- Clearly state the potential benefits of OCB. This will create an environment where even those who are low in other-orientation will display more OCB because they can see the future self-benefit.
Korsgaard, M. A., Meglino, B. M., Lester, S. W., & Jeong, S. S. (2010). Paying you back or paying me forward: Understanding rewarded and unrewarded organizational citizenship behavior. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(2), 277-290.
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