Prolonged organizational citizenship behavior and its impact on nurses' mental health: a time to rethink

Purpose The primary objective of this study is to understand the motivational process of the nurses who were engaged in COVID care and performed organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) without caring about their own lives. This study also aims to investigate the consequences of such OCB on life satisfaction when the situation continues for a longer period. Design/methodology/approach For the study’s first objective, an online cross-sectional survey was conducted on 236 critical care nurses from 18 states of India extending over the period from March 2021 to November 2021, when the country passed through the second wave of COVID-19 infection. For the second objective, a longitudinal study compared the life satisfaction level during and post-COVID by giving a one-year gap (November 2022). Findings The findings of this study reveal that during this COVID period, nurses were strongly performing OCB through their organizational and professional commitment, but one year later, they were identified with a low level of life satisfaction. Originality/value Research on nurses has already categorized the profession under high emotional labor. Research also reveals that an individual’s emotional labor strategy (deep acting or surface acting) determines job satisfaction. However, under the COVID situation, nurses have displayed an extraordinary level of OCB by placing their own life at risk. Analysis of this study indicates that the OCB within the nurses during the COVID period originated from their commitment, not from the emotional labor strategy, which they used to select as a coping mechanism. However, one year later, it has affected their mental health and lowered their life satisfaction.