OCBs and Strain: The Moderating Role of Control

Organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) are typically assumed to be beneficial to employees and organizations. However, research has recently questioned this assumption. This study seeks to identify when OCBs are related to various strains and are detrimental to the employee or the organization. Specifically, using a stressor-strain model, it is hypothesized that in general, OCBs will be related to work effort; however, when employees feel pressured to perform OCBs, and thereby feel less control, OCBs will be more related to various strains. The hypotheses were partially supported: under all conditions, OCBs were related to effort, but under conditions of feeling forced, OCBs were more related to job dissatisfaction and counterproductive work behaviors. The latter portion was only found when OCBs were rated by a co-worker, suggesting that this effect may only hold for OCBs that are more visible, thus likely to be noticed by a co-worker. This further contributes to the growing literature that finds OCBs may have a dark side