Organizational citizenship behavior is everything that employees do outside the scope of their job description to support their colleagues and to benefit the organization as a whole. Let’s see how it works and how you can encourage it at your Hungarian company.
Beyond the job description
When you hire an employee, their labor contract will list their job title, which is supposed to give an indication of what their responsibilities will be, while their job description will list the actual tasks they are expected to perform. However, since at a workplace you have people working together, there are always more to do than what is in the job description. Additional tasks may include a variety of things, such as:
- Being polite to each other
- Helping out each other
- Loading paper into the printer
- Leaving community spaces in order
- Suggesting ways to improve a colleague’s work
- Giving new hires tips on working with workplace resources
- Giving new hires tips on where to have lunch in the neighborhood
- Giving a colleague a lift home
- Participation in CSR programs
- Taking over shifts from each other
- Working overtime
In short, there are a lot of tasks that are not, and honestly, cannot be included in anyone’s job description, but are still crucial to the smooth operation of the business. These are called organizational citizenship behaviors, and they entail a wide range of activities. Since they mean employees do more than what is strictly expected of them, they reduce the need for supervision, improve workplace morale, and result in cost- saving suggestions. In turn, these free up managerial time that can be used for growing the business.
Other benefits include:
- Improved team dynamics
- Higher productivity
- Increased resilience to market changes
- Reduced stress levels and reduced risk of burnout
- Lower employee turnover
- Enhanced employer brand
Encouraging organizational citizenship
Encouraging organizational citizenship behaviors is tricky, since officially they are not part of the job description, so it would be unfair to include them in a performance review. Additionally, not everyone has the same possibilities to engage with extra activities. Moreover, organizational citizenship behaviors often remain unseen (at least until they stop), which makes them especially difficult to recognize and reward.
As a result, formally rewarding something that is officially not required, often invisible, and sometimes physically impossible for some of the employees may decrease motivation and damage the workplace morale.
Because of this, there is no one-size-fits-all solution for boosting organizational citizenship behaviors. However, there are some best practices that can contribute to building a healthy organization with enthusiastic citizens.
Some best practices
- The most important step of encouraging organizational citizenship behaviors is getting the management involved. First, managers should be taught to watch out for and recognize such behaviors. They should also lead by example, supporting employees, and offering public praise.
- Creating more transparency at the workplace regarding payment tiers, working hours, overtimes, and bonuses, as well as the short-term and long-term goals of the business can also increase predictability, and in turn, trust and satisfaction among the employees and towards the supervisors. This can be complemented by emphasizing the roles of employees in reaching business goals.
- Transparency should include when and how input from the employees is accepted or expected. Based on your operation, your business might be more or less open for suggestions, and job descriptions may allow for more or less flexibility. However, the more employees see that their contribution is appreciated, the more likely they will be to contribute.
- In the vein of the above, the more employees see that their interests are considered, the more likely they will be to consider the interests of the business. This may include various forms of accommodation, from more flexible working hours to offering more ergonomic tools. This way employees can focus on growing your business instead of worrying about their difficulties.
- Creating opportunities for socializing during or after working hours might seem a good way to facilitate bonding between the employees. Participation cannot become an expectation, however, since not everyone has the same tolerance for social interactions, and if the event is after hours, not everyone will be able to stay due to other obligations. In these cases, you should also consider who will pick up the tab; your employees might not want to spend their paychecks on an event you are organizing to give a boost to your business.
- An alternative to simple social events might be participation in charity drives. This can take many forms depending on what is available in your area: joining a local charity event building a community garden, joining a race with a running team, signing up for a cooking contest, or offering consultation hours pro bono to local charities just to name a few. If employees see that your business is committed to supporting the community, they may become more committed to your business. But again: participation cannot become an expectation, especially not outside business hours.
- Involving organizational citizenship behaviors in performance management is an option too if the focus is shifted to the teamwork aspect from undertaking additional tasks. For example, it might not be best to ask how willing an employee is to do overtime, especially if their private affairs heavily limit this. However, you can more confidently add criteria such as how employees work together within a team, or even with other teams of the organization.
- Hiring right is also an important aspect in fostering organizational citizenship behaviors. On the one hand, you should aim at finding candidates who will be a good fit for the company culture, and who are likely to become good team players. On the other hand, you should be clear about expectations, opportunities, and rewards from day 1 to foster trust. At the same time, introducing new hires to the organizational culture through trainings or even mentoring could be a good way to motivate organizational citizenship while enhancing employee satisfaction.
Pitfalls to watch out for
While organizational citizenship behaviors may free up time for managerial tasks, they may take up some of the employees’ time that must be accounted for. For example, training and mentoring may be a good way to enhance satisfaction and decrease employee turnover, but they take time away from other tasks.
At the same time, you should try to find a balance between recognizing organizational citizenship behaviors but not expecting them. Letting work go unrecognized may decrease motivation and efficiency, while expecting additional work can lead either to resentment and a decreased motivation and efficiency, or to an unhealthy work/life balance and eventually burnout, losing you an experienced employee.
Increase productivity at your Hungarian company
Organizational citizenship behaviors might seem small, but they have cumulative effects on the organizations enabling them, making the work productive and the business more successful. In this sense, leadership may be defined as the ability to motivate organizational citizenship behaviors through considering what structures facilitate them and how can they benefit the business the most.
While you focus on building up your business, we would be happy to support you with administrative tasks. Do you need help with HR, payroll, accounting, or getting residency for your foreign employees in Hungary? Look no further! Contact us today, and tell us what you need so we can find the best solution for your specific case.