Feeling Gratitude and Depletion: The Ambivalent Consequences of Receiving Help in the Workplace

Yuanfang Zhan, Jinfan Zhou, Huan Cheng and Renyan Mu
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Yuanfang Zhan: School of Management, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Jinfan Zhou: Department of Human Resource Management, School of Business, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210093, China
Huan Cheng: School of Management, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Renyan Mu: School of Management, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430074, China

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 4, 1-13

Abstract: Drawing from social exchange theory, we developed a dual-path model of employees’ reactions to episodic help received from colleagues. Through a diary study, using data collected from 127 full-time employees working in a large Chinese bank, we tested this model, revealing that receiving episodic help from colleagues is positively related to the help receivers’ gratitude and ego depletion. Through these two ambivalent psychological states, help receivers were found to simultaneously engage in more organizational citizenship behaviors and deviance behaviors on a daily basis. These empirical findings contribute to research that adopts a target-centric perspective in examining the consequences of helping behavior in the workplace.

Keywords: helping behavior; organizational citizenship behavior; deviance; gratitude; ego depletion (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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