Altruism in the Workplace: Mechanisms, Outcomes, and Organizational Implications

Lior Frishman () and Ariel Fuchs
Additional contact information
Lior Frishman: Gaia College
Ariel Fuchs: Gaia College

A chapter in Entrepreneurship and Human-Centric Business Strategies for Social and Economic Resilience, 2026, pp 293-309 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract This systematic review synthesizes empirical and theoretical research on workplace altruism, examining its antecedents, mechanisms, and organizational consequences. Using thematic analysis of peer-reviewed literature from organizational psychology, management, and economics, we analyzed studies spanning individual prosocial behaviors to organizational citizenship behaviors. Key findings reveal that workplace altruism operates through three primary mechanisms: relational incentives that strengthen bonus credibility while undermining dismissal threats, social interaction effects that enhance co-worker relationships and organizational climate, and moral development processes linked to psychological flexibility. The research demonstrates significant positive outcomes including enhanced employee well-being, improved organizational learning capabilities, and increased performance under specific contextual conditions. Practical implications include the need for mixed incentive systems combining individual and team rewards, leadership development focusing on psychological flexibility, and organizational designs that function as quasi-organic systems. However, altruism’s effects are highly context-dependent, varying by organizational lifecycle stage, cultural norms, and incentive structure compatibility. This integrated framework provides guidance for fostering constructive altruistic behaviors while maintaining organizational effectiveness.

Keywords: Altruism; Organizational citizenship behavior; Workplace relationships; Prosocial behavior; Organizational performance; Fluid reality theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

There are no downloads for this item, see the EconPapers FAQ for hints about obtaining it.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:prbchp:978-981-95-6415-6_19

Ordering information: This item can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/9789819564156

DOI: 10.1007/978-981-95-6415-6_19

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics from Springer
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().