When Fear and Family Pressures Collide: Shared Goals Keep Helping Alive

What is it about?

This study investigates how pandemic fears affected employees’ willingness to go beyond their formal duties—known as organizational citizenship behavior (OCB)—during the COVID-19 crisis. Drawing on Conservation of Resources (COR) theory, it argues that fears about the virus can drain employees’ emotional and cognitive energy, especially when they experience family interference with work (when family pressures hinder job performance). These resource losses may push employees to conserve energy by focusing only on essential tasks, reducing their voluntary, cooperative efforts. Survey data from IT consultants in Portugal during the first pandemic lockdown show that employees preoccupied with COVID-19 experienced greater family-to-work conflict, which reduced organizational citizenship behavior (OCB). When family strain spilled into work, employees felt less motivated to contribute beyond formal roles. However, this effect weakened with strong goal congruence—shared goals and teamwork fostered support and communication, buffering the impact of pandemic fears and family conflict. These findings underscore that OCB is not just a function of personal resilience but also of social alignment. Even under fear and family pressure, employees can maintain helping behaviors when their workplace provides a sense of shared purpose and solidarity. Encouraging goal alignment can therefore help organizations preserve voluntary cooperation during periods of crisis and uncertainty.

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Photo by Alexander Simonsen on Unsplash

Photo by Alexander Simonsen on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This study is unique in linking pandemic fears, family-to-work conflict, and goal congruence within a single resource-based framework. It demonstrates that fears originating outside the workplace can erode employees’ discretionary engagement, but shared goals act as a relational resource that helps conserve emotional energy. By introducing goal congruence as a buffer, it expands COR theory to emphasize how collective purpose mitigates the personal toll of external crises on prosocial work behaviors. It is also timely, given the lingering emotional and family stresses stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings from Portugal’s IT sector highlight how organizations can counteract pandemic-related disengagement by fostering unity and shared purpose. In today’s uncertain environment—where personal fears often spill into work—managers can sustain voluntary helping and collaboration by cultivating collective goals that restore energy, focus, and mutual trust among employees.