How to Enhance an Employee's Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) as a Corporate Strategy

Abstract

Purpose: This study is to explore how to enhance an organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) for private companies, boosting their employees; performance. With OCB in place, businesses won't have to worry about employees engaging in harmful or counterproductive actions. Better coordination will benefit employees' skill sets and the company's overall performance. Research design, data and methodology: We used a data extraction form and present it as an appendix. These forms could demonstrate to the reader what the present authors looked for and how they found it. We also investigated to obtain text datasets whether any extractions were carried out in duplicate, and, if so, whether duplicate abstraction was carried out independently. Results: There are four solutions to boost employees' OCB for HR practitioners: 'Creating an Environment that Supports Constructive OCB', 'Encouraging Productive Behavior in the Workplace and Reward properly, 'Integrating Corporate Citizenship into Performance Evaluations', and 'Training to Use OCB and Educating on its Benefits'. Conclusions: Based on the research findings of the current study, this study strongly concludes that OCB should be encouraged, and employers and employees should collaborate on efforts to boost morale and increase productivity. As a direct result of their efforts, their firms enjoy improved earnings while experiencing reduced overhead costs.

1. Introduction

Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) refers to an employee’s civic engagement in the workplace that goes above and beyond the requirements of their job description. It can be described as going above what is expected at work. In its most basic form, it performs duties that are not included in one’s formal job description. (Cheema et al., 2020) The idea that OCB is done for the betterment of one’s company or colleagues is a popular understanding of what it means to engage in the practice. Taking on more obligations than those already assigned to one’s job. Understanding the present degree of employee involvement in the workplace is crucial since employee engagement and corporate citizenship behaviors are inextricably linked (Hermanto & Srimulyani, 2022). Employees are more likely to go above and beyond when they trust their management, get clear instructions, and are given constructive criticism (Khaskheli et al., 2020).

Businesses may greatly benefit from the actions of employees who exhibit “good citizenship” inside their organizations. Organizational effectiveness and efficiency are keys to OCB. It has been established that OCB is critical to the development, achievement, efficiency, and output of any enterprise. The following are ways in which OCB has contributed to the better performance of the business sector. OCB strengthens the organization’s capacity to recruit and retain the finest people, increases the organization’s ability to coordinate operations inside and between work groups, and boosts the organization’s stability, allowing it to react more effectively to changes in its external environment (Cheema et al., 2020). Members of today’s organizations are expected to act on their own will because of the increased value placed on adaptability, creativity, and environmental responsiveness. Therefore, a group needs the ability to change its members’ selfish ways of thinking and acting into more productive ones that contribute to the group’s growth. Regarding this matter, several researchers have focused on OCB (Hermanto & Srimulyani, 2022).

With OCB in place, businesses won’t have to worry about employees engaging in harmful or counterproductive actions. Better coordination will benefit employees’ skill sets and the company’s overall performance. Khaskheli et al. (2020) study explored the western business climate in the 1990s and drew a lot of attention to organizational citizenship behavior. OCB includes things like employees saying positive things about their departments, showing genuine interest in the work of their coworkers, making suggestions for how things can be done better, helping to train new employees, taking care of company property, being on time for work more often than is required, Over twenty years ago, researchers in the area of organizational behavior came up with the notion of organizational citizenship behavior. Since then, many studies have been conducted, particularly in the United States, resulting in a richer European Journal of Business and Management (Khaskheli et al., 2020).

When workers believe they are making a difference at their firm, they are more motivated to work hard, improving customer satisfaction and staff competence. The quickest method to boost employee engagement is to simply spend more time with your staff. It’s also helpful to inform them of the market situation so that their input may be included. It’s important to let workers know that it’s because of them that the business is a success, and if they’re given the resources they need, the firm will thrive (Widarko & Anwarodin, 2022). The traditional definition of organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) involves people assisting others they work with or for. Organizational citizenship behavior has to be researched to learn more about the concept as a whole, comprehend its relevance for most organizations, identify its most important workplace expressions, and catalog its numerous benefits.

2. Literature Review

De Clercq and Belausteguigoitia (2022) argue that “Organizational Citizenship Behavior” is where workers envision their company as a miniature town complete with its leader who stands in for its owner and some other divisions that report to the leader. De Clercq and Belausteguigoitia (2022) also state that employees should view their firm as a miniature city. In this metaphor, workers take the place of citizens of the city; as such, they have a personal stake in the success of the city as a whole economically, as well as in the upkeep and expansion of its physical infrastructure. This presents the concept of “organizational citizenship,” in which employees go above and beyond to serve the firm’s interests. An excellent example of corporate citizenship includes providing assistance to coworkers and promoting the company in settings outside the workplace (de Geus et al., 2020). Conduct that demonstrates organizational citizenship also involves making plans for the long term. Many employees are only concerned with the remuneration and benefits they will receive shortly rather than the opportunities that may present themselves in the long run. Employees that participate in responsible corporate citizenship consider not just the company’s current requirements but also the bigger picture.

According to Freire et al. (2022), employees who demonstrate good organizational citizenship are exclusively advantageous to the firm, but this is not the case. A recent study found that employees who participate in or engage in occupational community building (OCB) experience a stronger sense of connection to their work (Liu et al., 2022). The five most common instances of OCB are selflessness (altruism), courtesy (civility), sportsmanship (sportsmanship), and conscientiousness (civic virtue). The concept of helping others out of concern for one’s well-being is what we mean when talking about “altruism” (Zbierowski, 2020). Workplaces with a greater likelihood of employees being selfless tend to have higher rates of both efficiency and output. Treating other people with consideration and politeness is “courtesy.” It encourages good connections in the workplace and helps lower the amount of stress experienced by employees (Kataria, & Adhikari, 2022). When things don’t go as planned, when one confronts circumstances that are bothersome or otherwise difficult to deal with, a good athlete retains his or her calm and performs in a manner that reflects well on the sport, even if the situation is tough to deal with. One of the best ways to demonstrate the importance of teamwork is to demonstrate good sportsmanship when higher-ups reject one’s idea. He doesn’t take out his anger on his colleagues; instead, he keeps his mouth shut and just shrugs off the fact that his scheme was shot down (Piatak & Holt, 2020). To be considered conscientious, an individual must behave in a way that demonstrates a higher level of self-discipline or self-control than is necessary under any given set of circumstances. Being a good citizen means consistently promoting a firm or business to one’s circle of friends, family, colleagues, and the like, as well as showing up to events to demonstrate one’s support for the corporate or organization that one is praising (Thompson, 2019).

Considering the enormous benefits obtained via OCB, it is essential to investigate the factors that may affect its use in the workplace. The broad categories of leadership, character, and viewpoint are the buckets into which these qualities might be placed (Serpell et al., 2021). Although personality has very little impact on the likelihood of OCB displays, some employees will have a greater propensity than others to engage in other coworker behavior (OCB). Four aspects of an individual’s personality have been connected to OCB. This category includes characteristics such as receptivity to new experiences, sociability, dependability, and neuroticism (Faria, 2020). Traditional metrics are used when making inferences about OCB based on attitudes. Some different factors, including employee engagement, job happiness, motivation, organizational commitment, and confidence in management and peers, can determine a healthy workplace. Job satisfaction is commonly regarded as one of the conventional indicators of organizational citizenship behavior that carries the most weight. Prior study stated that individual temperament, a sense of justice, motivational factors, and role perception are only a few job-related characteristics that impact organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). It’s possible that using a diverse range of leadership styles may help OCB (Kim et al., 2019). There are many different approaches to leadership, ranging from transformational to instrumental to empathic. Positive leader-member interchange is characterized by mutual liking and trust between a superior and subordinate. This makes both sides more inclined to participate in unselfish and courteous behavior that helps the group and fosters OCB. Four components of a group’s composition contribute to OCB’s development (Cho & Kao, 2022). A solid support system, along with factors such as group cohesiveness, communication between colleagues, and collective effectiveness, all play a part in this. A lack of social cohesiveness negatively impacts happiness, trust, and loyalty to the group. Communication between team members may affect the group’s cohesiveness and motivation.

A culture of mutual support, expressed in people’s impressions of the team’s dedication to their achievements, makes it possible for people to work together and produce synergy. This culture also allows people to work together and create synergy. The above factors may serve as guidelines for improving organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) in circumstances where it may inspire employees, such as by encouraging more pleasant relationships among colleagues (Parke et al., 2021). In addition to these measures, the office’s social atmosphere, supervisors’ expertise, and the processes used to recruit employees may contribute to an inclusive workplace supporting OCB. A place of employment that encourages OCB among its employees is called an “office social environment” (office social environment for short). Training or education on the subject might make management more aware of OCB in the workplace. This could be accomplished by providing management with training or education (Parke et al., 2021). Suppose these characteristics are recognized throughout the recruitment process. In that case, it will be easier to find employees interested in participating in OCB and who have a positive attitude and a “can-do” attitude.

Table 1: Summary of Literature Review

3. Research Design

When conducting a literature review analysis, the current author gathered data from each included study to analyze, present, and summarize the evidence. This stage involves gathering and reviewing intricate texts databases for the meta-analysis of data. The present author needed to describe these techniques and any measures taken to minimize bias and errors made during data extraction and collection (Nguyen et al., 2022).

The present author used a data extraction form and present it as an appendix. These forms could demonstrate to the reader what the present authors looked for and how they found it. Readers could learn if the authors were testing the form. The present author also carefully investigated to obtain text datasets whether any extractions were carried out in duplicate, and, if so, whether duplicate abstraction was carried out independently and how disagreements were resolved (Kang, 2021).

It is possible that the researchers published accounts of the included studies do not contain all the information needed. Researchers must explain any steps they made to get further information from the initial researchers for the purpose of data collection disclosure. The researchers might also describe their attempts to get in touch with researchers, what they requested, and how successfully they got the data they needed. The present author additionally investigated if final collected datasets are checked the integrity of the data in his or her review with the original researchers by providing them with a draft of the review. Although some prior studies are occasionally published with similar contents and findings, it may be challenging to identify duplicate publications, as including them could induce bias (Woo, 2020).

As a result, the current author needed to explain any procedures they employed to prevent double counting and combine data from many studies reported in one publication, like juxtaposing author names, treatment comparisons, sample sizes, or outcomes (Nantharath et al., 2020). The current author also took a look at and eliminated all study reports, as contradictions could indicate significant limitations.

Figure 1: Obtaining Strategy of the Literature Textual Data

4. Findings

4.1. Creating an Environment that Supports and Promotes Constructive OCB

According to a review of the relevant research, organizational citizenship, engagement, and commitment were the most important factors in inspiring workers to achieve their full potential in terms of output and the quality of service provided. This conclusion was reached after identifying these as the most important factors in inspiring workers to achieve their full potential (Seong, 2021, Woo & Kang, 2021). To reach the objective of offering the highest possible quality of services in a highly competitive market, the most effective method is to adhere to the best practices of engagement, OCB, and commitment (Koser et al., 2018). Making individuals feel as if they are important is necessary to achieve high levels of employee engagement. Evaluating the amount of participation within an organization is one of the essential initial steps in integrating civic behavior inside a corporation (Juntunen et al., 2019). For employees to successfully represent the business and provide excellent results across all departments, they must have the organization’s core values and goals deeply imprinted in their minds (Lee, 2022).

4.2. Encouraging Good Behavior in the Workplace and Rewarding Employees

Managers need to make an effort to develop personal relationships with their employees since the influence that they have on a group of workers is not always straightforward to measure. When they see their boss putting in a lot of work, employees may feel obligated to do the same if they want to keep their jobs (Gregory, 2021). This would be the pinnacle of a great business plan in which every member was prosperous, passionate, loyal, and involved. Only by incorporating open communication and feedback (OCB), engagement, and commitment into the management strategies of the business will it be possible to create an environment in which there is no fear, an abundance of innovative ideas, and a strong sense of cooperation in all areas of operation (Xiao et al., 2022).

There are a variety of approaches that managers and business owners may use to encourage OCB in their workforce. First, organizations should emphasize production more than participation (Turnhout et al., 2020). Because participation is typically voluntary, so persuading someone to cooperate against their will may be challenging. There is no correlation between the quantity or quality of remuneration and benefits offered to workers and the degree of participation they have in the job they do each day. Because no one is compelled to buy OCB or participate in the program, everyone gives their time voluntarily (Somech & Bogler, 2019). To cultivate a culture that values volunteering, managers and other leaders should encourage their people to bring their selflessness to the workplace daily. Convincing others of the benefits of their personal growth might be a successful strategy. When individuals cannot find happiness in their personal lives, they cannot develop civic habits in their professional lives. The development of OCB may be aided by the fact that people who perceive that they are advancing in life are more inclined to take satisfaction in their accomplishments (Kang & Hwang, 2021; Woo, Lee, 2022).

4.3. Integrating Corporate Citizenship into Performance Evaluations

Including OCB in performance evaluation can help improve the productivity of employees. Managers can increase their employees’ organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) by asking “what’s next” to pave the way for others. To assist a coworker or team member in achieving their objectives, it is essential to inquire about what the individual desires to achieve next. By asking this question, leaders can learn more about the path their followers are heading down and the required measures (Khliefat et al., 2021). It is helpful to ask this question to stimulate conversation about growth among the participants. They are motivated to support one another at work by their mutual aspiration for higher positions in the company.

To improve the possibility that a leader’s workers and subordinates would band together to assist others, the leader must model encouraging behavior (Hooi et al., 2021). Leaders who take the time to support their staff will see an increase in morale and production as a direct consequence of their efforts. Leading by example is often regarded as one of the most effective leadership styles. When a leader demonstrates organizational citizenship behavior by helping followers and subordinates carry out their responsibilities or when a manager demonstrates organizational citizenship behavior by assisting followers and subordinates in carrying out their duties, followers and subordinates may learn to behave the same way (Testa et al., 2020). It is a well-known fact that the characteristics that make us unique have very little to do with determining whether or not we will be model workers (Tambe et al., 2019). Even if we have completed a class that prepares us for a certain job, we could still get additional knowledge about that job via actual work experience.

Consequently, if we work for organizations whose managers have a negative attitude toward OCB, we will absorb that culture, and in the end, we will not be able to display OCB in any of the roles we will have in the future. Therefore, managers and leaders must model behavior encouraging their workers to embrace and strengthen OCB (Fuller, 2022). In doing so, they will be able to create a culture that employees will carry with them when they leave the firm.

Managers and other leaders should exemplify open-minded and compassionate behavior for their staff by doing the same. When employees can trust their coworkers and their coworkers can trust them, trust levels increase between employees and management as well as among employees themselves (Park et al., 2020). Because of the positive and encouraging environment, employees don’t mind filling in for their missing peers. Any worker may safely distribute duties to their colleagues without fearing their obligations would go unmet due to the delegation. Leaders may be the ones who set the tone for this sort of working atmosphere by delegating part of their tasks to their staff. It shows leadership and trust in subordinates to delegate work (Naqvi, 2020). Employees who have been assigned particular tasks can share the burden by passing those obligations on to others, which helps build a culture of delegation within the organization. Even if they are not directly requested, workers will always be willing to assist one another in any manner possible.

Table 1: Results of Previous Textual Dataset from Literature

4.4. Training Employees to Use OCB and Educating Them on its Benefits

Apart from rewarding employees for their good behavior, businesses can opt to train them to motivate them. When workers act in particular ways, it may significantly impact firms and lead to major ramifications. If the workers do not recognize that they are more than just employees, then we will not be able to give the managers the high level of service they deserve. Most employees think it is their primary obligation to carry out solely the responsibilities they have been assigned; nevertheless, for them to come to this understanding, the firm and the management must provide support (Bowie, 2019). Most employees’ primary objective is to just scrape by, doing what they can while avoiding garnering the unwelcome attention of their superiors. Employee conduct that isn’t required but is nevertheless encouraged is referred to as “organizational citizenship,” “commitment,” and “engagement,” all of which are phrases that have similar meanings (Khan & Jabeen, 2019).

However, the actions that must be taken as a result of such behavior will benefit the organization in the long run since, they will improve its effectiveness and capability. The workers provide their very best effort and go much above and beyond what is required. Employees who demonstrate organizational citizenship behaviors are concerned about the health of the business and work to improve it not just for themselves but also for their coworkers and superiors. The employee’s real job tasks may have only a tenuous connection to the underlying variables that led to this behavior. Still, as was said, those elements eventually work in the employee’s favor. Managers would see these acts as encouraging indicators of future prospective leadership roles in the organization (Roscoe et al., 2019). When people act with integrity in the workplace, they take on significant responsibility for themselves and the company. It is vital for those working in the business sector to acknowledge the significance of activities of this kind.

The presence of such behaviors in employees is advantageous for a variety of reasons, including the creation of a new sensation of vitality, the establishment of a sense of purpose, the clearing up of role ambiguities, and an improvement in job performance. Another advantage is eliminating role ambiguity. Workers with less experience are more likely to dive into corporate citizenship activity if they are above a certain level of intellect, leading to higher involvement among early-career workers. Activities that fall under the category of “organizational citizenship” are denoted by a variety of nouns and verbs, including “altruism,” “courtesy,” “sportsmanship,” and “conscientiousness. As was said before, one example of such behavior is donating without anticipating receiving anything in return. Employee engagement refers to the extent to which individuals are excited about their work and devoted to the organizations they work for. Workers involved in their employment are likelier to put out their best effort, no matter how substantial the reward they are offered may be. There is a wide range of organizational structures, each emphasizing workers’ dedication while simultaneously providing opportunities for employee autonomy and advancement (Page et al., 2021; Serpell et al., 2021; de Geus et al., 2020).

Figure 2: Finding Summarization

5. Discussions

Organizational citizenship behavior has several implications in the workplace. It is essential to remember that the inception of such a culture can only come from those in management or leadership positions. By giving incentives, company leaders may promote improved corporate citizenship behavior. It is more probable that people will improve their OCB abilities and give more support to colleagues if they are acknowledged for showing OCB by leaders and the followers of those leaders. Everyone enjoys a sense of accomplishment from being recognized for their efforts. More employees may be encouraged to engage in OCB if those who do so are acknowledged and rewarded for their participation. A monetary reward, a commendation at one’s place of employment, or an altogether another object might serve as an incentive. Because every worker has the same goal of climbing the corporate ladder, it is only natural that when some employees succeed by participating in OCB, others will begin to do the same thing to get the same results. A reward can express thanks, acknowledgment, inspiration, or enticement. They are an essential component of the well-being of workers and play an essential role in recognizing and rewarding the labor that employees put in.

Sharing one’s work is another strategy that may be used in the workplace to encourage OCB. Some may misinterpret showing off one’s hard work as being boastful (Akinwale & George, 2020). Nevertheless, boasting is not the same thing as bragging; rather, it is a chance to let others shine because of the value they may have produced. When leaders share their work online or distribute it internally within the organization, they can inspire their colleagues by demonstrating the value of collaboration and sharing. When more employees in the firm get into the habit of bragging about their work, everyone will be eager to see what their partners have been up to once they start hearing about it. When employees wait too long to exhibit their final items, their colleagues may get curious and visit the workplace to check how things are progressing. An unanticipated advantage of their visit to the workplace may be the supply of help or essential background knowledge required to accomplish the production task of one of my colleagues. This information and assistance are both necessary to complete the job. When some time has passed, this will boost the overall level of OCB across the firm.

Eva and her associates (2019) argue that fostering workers’ growth will increase their dedication to the company beyond financial incentives. Communication between employees on individual capabilities and leadership abilities is proposed to improve service quality. Workers who believe they are still in the learning phase are less likely to exude confidence, which is essential for delivering warm customer service. As a bonus, shifting the restaurant staff away from a performance-based environment and toward an engaged and steady one is possible via motivation, inspiration, and coaching across the board. Operating out of uncertainty and dread will not inspire participation or dedication. To acquire a competitive advantage in the market, it is essential to deliver superior customer service; hence, listening to and acting on employee input is important. However, people are unique, and it might be difficult to locate employees who value their client’s satisfaction. Best practices in organizational citizenship behavior may be fostered by using acknowledgments to recognize the team’s efforts.

One of the research’s limitations was that it used secondary data. Using secondary data might have the potential disadvantage of not supplying answers to the one-of-a-kind research questions posed by the researcher or incorporating the information that the researcher requires. One piece of research, for instance, has collected data from a region that was not the focus of the study itself. Because of the significant amount of time between the first and current research, it is possible that the first study does not include any information that may be relevant to the second investigation. There were several discrepancies between the population studied and the primary focus of the researchers in several instances. Because the data set already exists and was gathered, it is difficult to control and make it conform to standards. This may result in a shift in the questions being asked or the parameters of the analysis being carried out.

Another potential limitation of this study is the possibility that the variables were not specified or categorized in the manner the researcher would have preferred. Some studies have employed categorical rather than continuous measures of age, while others have restricted the concept of race to merely “White” and “Other” categories. Both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages. The fact that this study relied on secondary data adds the additional limitation that it is unknown how the data was obtained or how well it was done. Consequently, the researcher cannot estimate the magnitude of influence factors like a low response rate or the respondents’ lack of comprehension of certain survey questions have on the data. The information found in the majority of research was readily apparent and simple to get, which is similar to the situation with many other types of government data. However, not all secondary data sets had these characteristics; hence, the analyst needed to “read between the lines” and make educated guesses about potential problems with the data collection.

There are various ways that citizenship may be shown in the workplace. Such characteristics include conscientiousness, altruism, politeness, civic virtue, and even sportsmanship. When employees go “above and beyond the call of duty,” they are said to have gone “above and beyond the call of duty.” This is the traditional definition of organizational citizenship behavior or OCB. Examples of contemporary organizational citizens include coworkers who are helpful, knowledgeable, and cooperative; senior staff members who can easily adjust to new conditions; and managers who are kind and inviting and who show recruits around the workplace and introduce them to colleagues. Organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) should be encouraged, and employers and employees should collaborate on efforts to boost morale and increase productivity (Widarko & Anwarodin, 2022). As a direct result of their efforts, their firms enjoy improved earnings while experiencing reduced overhead costs.