The effects of task centrality and supervisor observation on employees' reactions to help

Abstract

This study examines helping within the organizational context to determine whether situational factors such as task centrality and supervisor observation, as well as certain dispositional factors, affect the way an employee reacts to an offer of help from a coworker. The results show that the attributions made for the helpera??s intent mediate the effect of centrality on the behavioral reactions of the recipient. When the situation leads the recipient to believe that the help is altruistically rather than instrumentally motivated, individuals are more likely to accept the help and to reciprocate in future. The recipienta??s perception of the helper is also positively related to the altruistic attributions, and negatively related to the instrumental attributions, made for the help. The study shows, therefore, that the outcomes of helping behavior in the workplace depend on how it is interpreted by the recipient.