I/O Series #2: Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB): Building An Exception Team & Work Culture

[Next in the I/O Series is about Organizational Citizenship Behaviour (OCB). Acquainting with this concept will not only broaden the understanding about organizational behavior but will also help to identify the responsible factors that needs to be encouraged to increase incidence of Organizational Citizenship Behaviour.]

What does the exceptional employee do to be labeled ‘exceptional’? How can the work culture be promoted to bring out more exceptional team members?. 

In I/O Psychology, Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) is a concept that describes an employee’s voluntary commitment within an organization that is not part of his or her job description. It encompasses anything positive and constructive that employees do, which help provide support to co-workers and results as benefit to the company.

Defined as:

“Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), defined as behavior that (a) goes beyond the basic requirements of the job, (b) is to a large extent discretionary, and (c) is of benefit to the organization”

This behavior has been linked to work productivity, employee effectiveness, and other factors that can impact an organizational climate in the short or long term.

            Five Factor Model : Dimensions of Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB)
           Organ (1988)[1], proposed the Five Factors/Dimensions of Organizational Citizenship Behavior.

Five Factors are:

1)      Altruism

Altruism is defined as the desire to help or assist another individual, while not expecting a reward in compensation in return for that assistance. An example is helping other employees with their work, and volunteering to do additional work in order to help other employees reduce their own work load. Altruism in the workplace leads to productivity and effectiveness because it encourages good inter-employee relations; it can also reduce the stress on other employees.

2)      Courtesy
Courtesy is defined as behavior which is polite and considerate towards other people. Courtesy outside of a workplace setting includes behavior such as inquiring about personal subjects that a coworker has previously brought up, asking if a coworker is having any trouble with a certain work related project, and informing coworkers about prior commitments or any other problems that might cause them to reduce their workload or be absent from work. Courtesy not only encourages positive social interactions between employees.

3)      Conscientiousness,

Conscientiousness, sometimes referred to as compliance, reflects the genuine acceptance and adherence of workplace rules, regulations, and procedures. conscientiousness is observed when an employee not only meets their employer’s requirements—such as coming into work on time and completing assignments on time—but exceeds them.

4)      Civic Virtue

Civic virtue refers the active involvement, interest, and participation in the life of their organization, such as functions, events, and meetings. It is how well a person represents an organization with which they are associated, and how well that person supports their organization outside of an official capacity. For example, how well someone represents their business and how they may support that business are all examples of someone's civic virtue.

Eg: taking part in company marathons, charity fundraisers, speaking positively about the business to friends, family and acquaintances

and

5)      Sportsmanship

Sportsmanship describes employees who are willing to tolerate difficulties in the workplace that are intended to improve the organization, abstaining from unnecessary complaints and criticisms.

And like any other behavior we can apply various methodologies into increasing their occurrence through appropriate training and reinforcements. When employees perceive the procedures of their organization as fair and just (procedural justice), they will be more inclined to engage in organizational citizenship behavior. Another factor is the right motivation.

According to group value model[2] and the relational model of authority [3], people are very attuned to signals or information that indicates whether or not they are valued in the organization. If they are treated fairly, they feel they are valued members, and that will more inclined to high OC behaviour.

Back to our question in the beginning

       One possible answer is: Be aware of OCB and Encourage its occurrence

 

Shared by – Sony Paul Peter, +Sony Palachodan 

References & Further Reading

1.        Organ, D. W. (1988). Organizational Citizenship behavior: The good soldier syndrome. Lexington, MA: Lexington Books.

2.        Lind, E. A., & Tyler, T. R. (1988). The social psychology of procedural justice. New York, NY, US: Plenum Press.

3.        Tyler, T. R., & Lind, E. A. (1992). A relational model of authority in groups. In M. Zanna (Ed.). Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 25, pp. 115-191). New York, NY, US: Academic Press.

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