Publication Type
Journal Article
Version
acceptedVersion
Publication Date
2008
Abstract
Prior research on backing-up behavior has indicated that it is beneficial to teams (C. O. L. H. Porter, 2005; C. O. L. H. Porter et al., 2003). This literature has focused on how backing-up behavior aids backup recipients in tasks in which workload is unevenly distributed among team members. The authors of the present study examined different contexts of workload distribution and found that, in addition to the initial benefits to backup recipients, there are initial and subsequent costs. Backing-up behavior leads backup providers to neglect their own taskwork, especially when workload is evenly distributed. Team members who receive high amounts of backing-up behavior decrease their taskwork in a subsequent task, especially when a team member can observe their workload. These findings indicate that it is important to consider both the benefits and costs of engaging in backing-up behavior.
Keywords
team performance, backing-up behavior, helping behavior, workload, dependence
Discipline
Business
Research Areas
Organisational Behaviour and Human Resources
Publication
Journal of Applied Psychology
Volume
93
Issue
3
First Page
529
Last Page
539
ISSN
0021-9010
Identifier
10.1037/0021-9010.93.3.529
Publisher
American Psychological Association
City or Country
USA
Citation
Barnes, Christopher M.; Hollenbeck, J. R.; WAGNER, David Turley; DeRue, D. S.; Nahrgang, J. D.; and Schwind, K. M..
Harmful Help: The Costs of Backing up Behavior in Teams. (2008). Journal of Applied Psychology. 93, (3), 529-539.
Available at: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/lkcsb_research/1746
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Additional URL
https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.93.3.529