When Pressure to Volunteer Reduces Change Efforts: How Family Support Can Make a Difference

What is it about?

This study examines how citizenship pressure—feeling expected or pressured to go beyond formal job duties—shapes employees’ willingness to engage in change-oriented organizational citizenship behavior, or voluntary actions aimed at improving workplace practices and outcomes. Excessive pressure to go beyond one’s role can increase employees’ intentions to leave, weakening their motivation to contribute to voluntary efforts that benefit the organization. However, support from family members may help protect employees from this negative cycle. Using survey data from employees in Canada’s healthcare sector, the findings show that citizenship pressure reduces voluntary, change-focused behavior. When employees feel pressured to go beyond their formal duties, they are more likely to consider leaving their employer. These quitting intentions help explain why they become less willing to participate in voluntary efforts aimed at improving the organization and its practices. However, stronger family support can lessen this effect and help employees maintain constructive efforts despite workplace pressure. The results offer practical guidance for human resource management. Excessive expectations to volunteer can create a cycle in which employees become more likely to leave and less willing to undertake voluntary efforts that help organizations adapt. Organizations should recognize when citizenship pressure becomes counterproductive. Sustainable working conditions and recognition of employees’ support outside work may help preserve motivation and encourage constructive change.

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Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash

Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This research is unique in showing how pressure to engage in voluntary, extra-role activities can paradoxically reduce employees’ willingness to address organizational challenges. By identifying quitting intentions as a mechanism linking citizenship pressure to reduced change-oriented effort, it highlights how excessive expectations can undermine constructive behavior. It also shows that family support can weaken this process, demonstrating how resources outside work can sustain employees’ willingness to contribute. This research is timely as organizations increasingly depend on employees to take initiative, adapt to change, and contribute beyond formal job duties. In demanding sectors such as healthcare, expectations to go the extra mile can become excessive, increasing frustration and thoughts of leaving. The findings show that encouraging voluntary effort requires sustainable working conditions and recognition of employees’ lives beyond work. Supporting well-being can help retain employees while sustaining needed change efforts.