Effective leaders motivate and inspire their teams to engage in what scholars call citizenship behaviors, which go above and beyond job requirements to benefit the organization. These behaviors include helping coworkers, taking on additional responsibilities, sharing innovative solutions, and putting in extra hours when necessary. They contribute to company performance by saving scarce resources, increasing organizational stability, enhancing team effectiveness, and making the workplace more attractive.
Citizenship behaviors can also benefit the individuals who demonstrate them. For instance, they’re associated with positive energy, increased social capital, and higher ratings on performance evaluations. One might expect employees who experience such benefits to continue the behaviors. However, a recent line of research on moral selflicensing suggests that today’s good citizens may sometimes feel entitled to behave like bad apples in the future.