Resolving the individual helping and objective job performance dilemma: the moderating effect of team reflexivity

Good citizens who help others make important contributions to work life in organizations. However, the anticipated positive impact of helping is at odds with findings across studies that those who help often experience lower job performance. The present study builds theory and helps to resolve the helping and job performance dilemma by exploring the conditions under which individual job performance is enhanced for team members who frequently help others. The cross-level and time-lagged design was used to collect data from 227 consultants nested in 60 project teams. An objective job performance indicator was used. We find that team reflexivity, which refers to team members’ collective reflection and communication regarding team objectives and tasks, is a key moderator of the relationship of helping with job performance. The helping-performance relationship is positive when team reflexivity is high and negative when reflexivity is low. This study offers several implications for future theory and practice