OCBs: Are They, and Should They Be, Unrewardable?

by Dr Deirdre O’Donovan, Lecturer in HRM and MA HRM Course Coordinator, Cork Institute of Technology.

At the beginning of this series, it was noted that Organizational Citizenship Behaviours (OCBs) are supra-role behaviours, meaning they are neither enforceable or rewardable. In Post 6; OCBs: The Dark Side, it was suggested that they are sometimes enforced, or expected, and so raising the questions as to whether, in such cases, they should be rewarded. In addition, based on a 2015 study by this writer, it is possible that some employees who engage in OCBs are not likely to continue to do so in the absence of any reward.

In Post 6, it was noted that some employees may undertake OCBs in response to pressure placed on them by individuals of significance, for example, managers. When superiors look to increase the workload of existing employees by involving them in tasks that go beyond their job description, they are essentially forcing the undertaking of OCBs. This raises a question as to whether such instances of OCBs should be rewarded in some way. The opinion of this post is yes, they should. When employees are given little choice but to undertake extra tasks, they are not technically engaging in OCBs, as the activities are not voluntary in nature. The activities still exceed role requirements, and so not rewarding those activities is arguably both ethically and legally questionable. It is of course possible that these extra activities are requested by management in response to environmental or contextual pressures, yet, regardless of reason, and even if financial compensation is not possible, other methods of reward should be explored.

Post 6 also commented on the naturalisation of OCBs. It was acknowledged that, often, the more an individual does, the more they are expected to do. This essentially means that OCBs may start off voluntary and supra-role in nature, but then become the source of extra work for employees who undertook them as a result of goodwill, while employees who did not undertake OCBs are just expected to do the actual job. It is unlikely that financial compensation is appropriate in this context, as, while OCBs have become expected of some employees, they are not expected of all, meaning they are still not strictly part of the job. Nonetheless, they have become expected of some employees, and so it is again suggested that these employees be rewarded in some way. This may, for example, take the form of flexibility, or opportunities to pursue activities of interest.

While the above refers to forced OCBs, it is also arguable that truly voluntary OCBs may still need to be rewarded. It is not suggested that each instance of OCBs be rewarded, rather that if an employee is continually undertaking OCBs, such a continuity of activity should be rewarded. Indeed, in the 2015 study mentioned at the beginning of this post, it was found that there may be a limit to the extent of OCBs that individuals will engage in as a matter of goodwill before rewards are expected. Some respondents suggested that when they engage in “one-off” behaviours, they do not desire a reward, but, if they engage in an activity constituting a significant effort on their part, this effort should be rewarded, or they would be less inclined to engage in such behaviours again.

In addition, almost half of the respondents in the study opined that OCBs should be rewarded, but in the form of recognition or expressed appreciation of their efforts. This is certainly a reasonable desire, as “Thank You” costs little indeed. Moreover, recognition can be used as a strategy of reinforcement, as it signals that certain behaviours are desirable, potentially rendering employees more likely to engage in OCBs in the future. Other respondents indicated that reward was desired in the form of enhanced relationships with management, again indicating that a vocal appreciation of behaviours may be a sufficient reward.

Ultimately, regardless of whether employees undertake OCBs as a result of pressure or goodwill, the organisation, as outlined in previous posts, benefits, as extra work is being carried out. While this work may be voluntary in nature, it is for the betterment of the organisation or its employees, and improves performance and functioning. Efforts on the part of employees to do so, should be rewarded.

About the author

Dr Deirdre O’Donovan is currently a lecturer in Human Resource Management in Cork Institute of Technology, Cork, Ireland, and the course coordinator for the MA in HRM. Previous research focussed on National Culture and Performance Management, while her current research interests are primarily rooted in Industrial/Organisational Psychology, Inclusion and HRM.
LinkedIn: Deirdre-O-Donovan-phd
Email: [email protected]