Organizational Citizenship Behavior: A Guide for Companies

Key takeaways

Organizational citizenship behavior describes employee actions that positively impact the organization beyond what’s required.

• Examples of organizational citizenship behavior include an employee adjusting their schedule, sharing ideas for improvement, or putting in extra time.

• Organizational citizenship behavior benefits the employee as well, by creating a positive perception of them and potentially creating opportunities for recognition and promotions.

• You can experience positive outcomes such as increased employee engagement and reduced turnover by fostering organizational citizenship behavior in your workplace.

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What is organizational citizenship behavior (OCB)?

Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) refers to employee behavior that benefits others outside their job description. For an organization to be successful, employees must be motivated to remain with the company, complete their expected job tasks well, and be willing to do more than required for the organization's benefit. The latter of these forms the basis of OCB. These behaviors revolve around sportsmanship, courtesy, civic virtue, conscientiousness, and helping behavior.

One distinction between OCB and regular job responsibilities is that an organization’s reward system does not formally recognize OCB, which includes actions that support the organization’s social and psychological environment. OCB also contributes to a positive workplace culture where employees are willing to come together and contribute in ways that promote a smooth overall operation. 

Read more: Employee Experience: Understanding and Elevating It

Examples of OCB

OCB generally includes taking on more work-related responsibilities, either directly or indirectly. This varies depending on the industry and culture of the organization, but examples may include:

• Adjusting your own work schedule to accommodate the needs of colleagues

• Helping absent or overloaded colleagues

• Attending extra organizational functions

• Sharing ideas within the company

• Seeing projects through to completion, even if it requires extra time outside

• Prioritizing customer happiness beyond what is strictly required

• Suggesting improvements

• Voluntarily assisting with workshops or conferences

• Dedicating personal time to help an operation run more smoothly

Understanding motivations within an organizational citizenship behavior model

Employees who engage in OCB often have one of three motivations: impression management, prosocial values, or organizational concern. Below, explore each in more detail. 

Impression management 

Impression management involves how others perceive you. When your employees engage in OCB with the goal of improving how other people within the company view them, their underlying motivation is impression management.

In a business setting, impression management helps employees create an image that leads to organizational advantages. Accordingly, it might relate to social acceptance, rewards or recognition, being noticed by senior colleagues, being promoted, and being accepted by the environment. In general, employees motivated by impression management are more likely to engage in OCB, which makes them look good in the eyes of others.

Prosocial values

If an employee has strong prosocial values, they may exhibit more prosocial behaviors in both their personal and professional life. Prosocial behaviors are voluntary actions that have the intention to benefit others. In a workplace setting, this might involve actions revolving around sharing, volunteering, cooperation, generosity, and collaboration. 

A person exhibiting prosocial values in a social setting might be more likely to be involved in corporate philanthropy, activism, or politics related to corporate governance.

Organizational concern

Organizational concern, or pro-organizational motives, is related to care toward what happens to the company. When an employee genuinely cares about the organization and its success, they may engage in behaviors outside of their job description that help propel the company forward and contribute to the smooth functioning of the organization as a whole.

How the organizational citizenship behavior model benefits employees and organizations

Employees who exhibit OCB tend to have more positive attitudes toward their colleagues and the organization as a whole. If employees feel supported and respected in the workplace, it can translate into a sense of loyalty that leads to “going the extra mile” for the company outside of working responsibilities. Employees are also less likely to leave organizations when they engage in OCB, which reduces costs associated with employee turnover and disengagement.

OCB tends to also lead to higher manager performance ratings, which can add to employee satisfaction. You can increase OCB over time by fostering an environment that motivates employees and helps them feel passionate about their work. 

What to avoid with OCB

When encouraging OCB within your organization, it’s important to consider employees' other commitments and responsibilities. In some cases, excessive OCB can cost the employee personal time, leading to higher stress levels, work-family conflicts, and less time to fulfill their own responsibilities within normal working hours. 

While employees with higher levels of OCB often exhibit increased performance in their positions, higher-level management within the organization should stay aware of potentially harmful personal costs for employees. To help reduce personal impacts, you should provide employees with self-efficacy training and assess the underlying motivations for employee OCB. At the end of the day, a healthy work environment is one where employees feel motivated to help the organization succeed while maintaining high levels of personal satisfaction.

How to increase organizational citizenship behavior

With intentional efforts, clear direction, and a system for measuring the success of your initiatives, you can increase organizational citizenship behavior in your workplace. Consider the following strategies that you can use to encourage greater OCB.

Write OCBs into the company mission and values.

Consider writing OCBs directly into your company’s mission statement to help prioritize them. If your overall organization has a culture of courtesy, conscientiousness, and good sportsmanship, you can encourage a positive work environment that fosters employee actions designed for the “greater good.”

Strategically recruit new employees. 

Throughout the hiring process, engage directly with candidates and look for indications that they value OCB. You can include specific screening questions and structured interviews, and assess OCBs during interviews to gauge whether a candidate is likely to contribute in this way if hired.

Lead by example. 

To encourage employees to engage in OCB, you should lead by example. Leadership within the company should prioritize a work ethic and attitude that sets an example for the rest of the team. 

Encourage collaboration.

By encouraging employees to share ideas, an employee who is more motivated to perform pro-organizational behavior may motivate others to help them. In turn, it increases overall OCB and can prevent citizenship fatigue if one employee is carrying too much weight outside of their professional responsibilities.

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