Temporary Employees as Good Citizens: Factors Influencing Their OCB Performance

Abstract

Companies utilizing contingent workers face a dilemma between the need to employ a flexible (i.e., low fixed-cost) work force and the need to employ a work force providing performance above and beyond the call of duty. One potential solution to this dilemma is to determine ways to promote the commitment and high performance of temporary employees. To that end, we conducted a study examining factors influencing organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) performance in temporary employees. Our results support or partially support hypotheses proposing that 1) job attitudes held by the temporary employee about the client organization were related to OCB performance in the client organization, 2) job attitudes held by the temporary employee about the staffing agency were related to OCB performance in the client organization, and 3) the employee's motivation for taking an assignment is related to OCB performance. Implications for enhancing OCB performance in temporary employees are discussed.