Resolving the individual helping and objective job performance dilemma: The moderating effect of team reflexivity

Abstract Employees who are good organizational citizens help others to be more effective at work. However, the positive impact of helping is at odds with findings across studies suggesting those who help often experience worse performance. This study builds theory and helps to resolve the helping and performance dilemma by exploring the conditions under which individual job performance is enhanced for team members who frequently help others. A cross-level and time-lagged design was used to collect data from 227 consultants nested in 60 project teams. An objective job performance indicator was used. We find that team reflexivity, which refers to team members’ collective reflection and communication regarding team objectives and tasks, is a key moderator in the helping and job performance relationship. Our findings indicate that the helping-performance relationship is positive when team reflexivity is high and negative with low reflexivity. This study offers several implications for future theory and practice.