Give, take, or match? Styles of reciprocity, job satisfaction, and work motivation
- Public Administration Review
- 84(4), Jul-Aug, 2024: p.748-763
This article investigates the causal effects of reciprocity styles at work on colleagues’ expected job satisfaction and motivation through four online experiments involving 16,461 public professionals. Findings reveal that the “giving” reciprocity style—helping others when benefits outweigh personal costs—maximizes expected satisfaction among subordinates. Motivation is highest when supervisors or colleagues exhibit a giving style, with peer influence proving stronger than supervisory influence. Team motivation increases with the arrival of a giver, while the presence of a taker reduces motivation compared to their departure. The study highlights the importance of reciprocity styles in shaping organisational behaviour, team dynamics, and workplace motivation in public sector contexts..In four online experiments involving 16,461 public professionals, we examined the causal effects of reciprocity styles at work on colleagues' expected job satisfaction and motivation. Our findings indicate that giving, which involves helping others when the benefit outweighs personal cost, is the supervisory reciprocity style that maximizes expected satisfaction among subordinates (Study 1). Additionally, it is expected that public employee motivation will be highest when their supervisor or colleagues exhibit a giving reciprocity style. Interestingly, the positive motivational effect of a giving peer is found to be relatively larger than that of a giving supervisor (Study 2). Furthermore, the expected motivation of current team members is enhanced by the prospect of a giver joining their unit, while the arrival of a taker (someone who only helps if the benefits exceed personal costs) reduces colleagues' motivation compared to the departure of a taker (Study 3).- Reproduced