Citizenship Behavior: The Link between Employee Satisfaction and Performance
Kim McCarthy, University of California at Irvine
One of the earliest questions motivating management research was, “Are happy workers really
more productive?” During the mid-twentieth century, some managers wondered whether employees who
were satisfied with their jobs would work harder, longer, or more efficiently. In the management field,
this is known as the “happy-productive-worker thesis.” Subsequently, a great deal of organizational
behavioral evidence was amassed during the late 1900s that almost certainly debunked this once popular
belief, or so it seemed.
More nuanced research since then has revealed that the accuracy of the “happy-productiveworker thesis” depends entirely on how job performance is defined. For example, when a very narrow
measure of performance, such as productivity or simple quantity of work produced, is used, there is no
evidence that making employees happy will lead them to be more productive. However, defining
performance in this narrow way fails to take into account important contextual aspects of work that
usually matter to managers, such as congeniality, effort, and helpfulness. To overcome this inadequacy,
the definition of job performance has been expanded, and the notion of “organizational citizenship
behavior” has been introduced.
Organizational citizenship behavior refers specifically to employees’ willingness to help at work
by going above and beyond what is required by their job description. For instance, when employees
share expertise, help others with work-related problems, cooperate, provide encouragement to new
employees, or just lend a hand, they are engaging in organizational citizenship behavior. From another
perspective, organizational citizenship behavior is constituted by “a…sort of conscientiousness…a good
soldier or good citizen type of syndrome of doing things that are right and proper for the organization.”
In terms of the role of organizational citizenship in the satisfaction-performance relationship,
there are two components that need to be explained; one is the association between satisfaction and
organizational citizenship behavior and the other is the association between organizational citizenship
behavior and individual job performance.
Satisfaction
Organizational
Citizenship Behavior
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Job
Performance
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The first component to the satisfaction-performance relationship is the connection between
employee satisfaction and organizational citizenship behavior. Research shows that employees who are
more satisfied with their job, their boss, and their organization, on average, are more likely to help in all
capacities. One reason for this may be that an individual’s willingness to help is largely dependent on
their mood. When employees are in a positive mood, they are more likely to pitch in and be charitable
with both their time and money. Because organizational citizenship behavior is dependent on
employees’ willingness to be charitable with their time, and because “…every factory, office, or bureau
depends on acts of cooperation, helpfulness, suggestions, gestures of goodwill, and altruism from its
members,” it behooves an organization to be vested in the satisfaction of its employees.
The second component to the satisfaction-performance relationship is that organizational
citizenship behavior may be associated with increased job performance for some employees, when it is
defined more broadly. One notable study found that having high levels of organizational citizenship
behavior in a firm is associated with increased quality and speed of work performed by employees – not
only the “good citizens,” but all the employees they affect. There are several possible reasons for this
finding:

First, citizenship behaviors “…lubricate the social machinery of the organization” and generally
make it easier for employees to communicate. Because most work nowadays is interdisciplinary
and necessitates interaction between employees and across departments, the ability to cooperate
to solve complex problems is a vital factor in job performance.

Next, organizational citizenship behavior includes employees’ willingness to pitch in and help
each other. One way employees do this is by sharing tips, tricks of the trade, or giving advice to
more junior employees. This sharing of knowledge can help them make fewer mistakes, improve
the quality of their work, and increase their ramp-up time.

Finally, organizational citizenship behavior may aide in the timely resolution of employee
conflict. For example, organizational citizenship behaviors may create a more open workplace
environment where employees feel comfortable going to their supervisor for help. Research
shows that supervisors can play a vital role in helping to mediate co-worker disputes and dispel
disagreements.
Taken together, these three reasons suggest that organizational citizenship behavior could be an
essential element in enhancing the job performance of employees.
Given that satisfaction may be associated with increased job performance through citizenship
behavior, managers may want to understand what they can do to increase the likelihood of employees
displaying these types of behavior in their organization. There are at least three factors that have been
linked with increased organizational citizenship behavior.
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
Supervisor fairness has been shown to lead to employee citizenship. The reason for this may be
that when a positive relationship develops between employees and their supervisor, it becomes
more likely that employees will reciprocate with extra effort and willingness to help.

Procedural justice, or fairness in the processes for resolving disputes or allocating resources, is
also an important way that an organization can increase the likelihood of organizational
citizenship behavior among employees. This means that by establishing fair and consistent ways
of handling work-related issues and showing employees that their grievances will be heard and
considered, workers will likely be more satisfied in the long-run.

Individuals who are loyal, conscientious, dedicated, and have a positive attitude are more likely
to engage in organizational citizenship behavior. With that in mind, managers can try to select
people with these traits to fill open positions.
In sum, although the “happy-productive-worker thesis” may not have received empirical support
initially, the reason was likely because the measure of job performance used was too narrow and did not
capture the contextual aspects of performance that are affected by satisfaction. However, when a more
broad definition of performance is employed, it becomes clear that organizational citizenship behavior is
an important link between job satisfaction and performance. Further, supervisor fairness, procedural
justice, and specific individual differences may increase the likelihood that employees will engage in
organizational citizenship behavior at work. Understanding the satisfaction-performance relationship
and the role that organizational citizenship behavior plays in it may help managers improve the job
performance of their employees after all.
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