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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”)