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COWORKER DISCRETIONARY SUPPORT: THE MEANING OF A CONSTRUCT

Presented to the MAOL ProgramBy Maggie Collins

May 2, 2014

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AGENDAOverview of the SubjectResearch QuestionsMethodologyFindingsDiscussionQuestions and Answers

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COWORKER DISCRETIONARY SUPPORT (CDS)

Job Resource

Psychological Well Being

Intrinsic Motivation

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RESEARCH QUESTIONS What is CDS?

What are the behaviors that comprise CDS?

Does it reflect two distinct factors?

Does it Matter? Is it related to engagement?Does it depend on whether a person is

relationship-oriented or not?

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Methodology

Phase I: Qualitative

Literature Review

Interviews

Phase II: Quantitative

Survey

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PHASE I: LITERATURE REVIEW

Social Support

Organizational Citizenship

Engagement

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PHASE I: INTERVIEWSTell me about a time…?

How did you

feel…?

What do you

think…?

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FINDINGS: WHAT IS CDS?

Sounding Board

Brainstorming

Planning

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FINDINGS: WHAT IS CDS?

Sharing Resources

Coaching

Mentoring

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FINDINGS: WHAT IS CDS?

Acknowledging

Empathizing

Encouraging

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FINDINGS: WHAT IS CDS?

Performing Tasks

Advocating

Pitching In

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FINDINGS: CDS IMPACT

Relieved

Obligated

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ADDITIONAL FINDINGS

“Sometimes it is about having

friends at work”

“I don’t need to be buddy-buddy with everyone. We just

need to work together to get the

job done.”

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ADDITIONAL FINDINGS

Differentiated Coworker Support Affective Instrumental

Coworker Support mostly instrumental But always with

emotional impact

Literature Review Interviews

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PHASE II: SURVEY - CONTENT

Screening QuestionsU.S. BasedAt least one yearCoworkers

CDS QuestionsRelationship Orientation (RO)Engagement

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PHASE II: SURVEY - SAMPLE

133 Respondents Mostly private/for-

profitAcross industriesAcross occupations

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PHASE II: SURVEY - RESULTS What is CDS?

Finalize behaviors One factor or two?

Is it related to Work Engagement? Does Relationship-

Orientation moderate the CDS-Engagement relationship?

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SURVEY RESULTS: THE CDS ITEMS

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SURVEY RESULTS: THE SO-SO NEWS Testing the Model (CFA)

Factor loadings were appropriate in either model Model fit indices fell just short Affective and Instrumental factors correlated .88

Two-Factor ModelOne-Factor

Model

CDS

Affective

Item 1

Item 2

Item 3

Item 4

Instrumental

Item 5

Item 6

Item 7

Item 8

CDS

Item 1

Item 2

Item 3

Item 4

Item 5

Item 6

Item 7 Etc.

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SURVEY RESULTS: FINAL MODEL

Reliability

CDS

Item 1 Ite

m 2Item 3

Item 4

Item 5

Item 6Ite

m 7

Item 8

Item 10

Item 11

Item 12

Item 14

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SURVEY RESULTS: THE GOOD NEWS

CDS & Engagement are positively correlated

.566 (p < .001)

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SURVEY RESULTS: THE INTERESTING NEWS Relationship Orientation did not impact the

CDS-Engagement relationship

+

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LIMITATIONS Interviews framed around CDS Small sample size Ignored other variables related to

engagement Survey method

Self report Single point in time

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FUTURE DIRECTIONS Collect more data Examine CDS – Engagement with other

variables Look for direct relationships between

CDS and other outcomesReciprocal effects Increased performance outcomes

Solutions for leadership

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TO RECAP I Developed a Reliable and Behaviorally

Based Measure of CDS CDS showed a Significant, Positive

Relationship to Engagement How Relationship Oriented Employees are

Does NOT Appear to Impact the CDS - Engagement Relationship

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LEADERSHIP: WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

CDS Matters, so Pay Attention

Measure and Model it

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THANK YOU!(ESPECIALLY TO MY “FELLOWSHIP OF THE THESIS”)