The value of employees who go the extra mile : … and how to encourage such voluntary, helpful behavior

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present the concept of voluntary, helpful organizational behavior and offer a discussion of research that aims to help managers to encourage such behavior among their employees. Design/methodology/approach – This paper discusses voluntary, helpful organizational behavior based on a review of recent research, as well as findings from the authors’ research. Findings – This paper explains that voluntary, helpful organizational behavior could include, for example, taking the initiative to increase one’s knowledge about the job, technology, tools, industry, competitors and so on; making constructive suggestions; taking the initiative to help solve unexpected problems; working diligently to meet some deadlines; and volunteering to help with some tasks that are not part of one’s normal task duties. Practical implications – The authors reveal that for voluntary, helpful organizational behavior to flourish, manager or supervisor supportiveness is important; management should provide and reinforce procedural justice in the workplace; managers should help employees in attaining job satisfaction; and managers should use positive reinforcement. Social implications – A set of behaviors that can be useful not only in the work environment but also in society as a whole has been described. Originality/value – This paper points out that there is little information in practitioner journals addressing the behaviors in pragmatic terms. It also offers practical suggestions for human resource management.