Prosocial Behavior at Work Through the Lens of Character Strengths

Abstract

Character strengths (CSs) are positive traits that have been shown to efficiently and effectively promote a host of positive outcomes, outside and inside the workplace. Despite their theoretical moral basis, they have not been systematically and wholly explored as antecedents of, and correspondingly unused as, mechanisms to increase prosocial behavior (PB) at work. Prosocial behavior at the workplace is desirable, with research pointing to a host of organizational benefits. The utilization of CSs toward PB at work seems like a missed opportunity, given that CSs have been demonstrated as robust positive mechanisms and given that they are characterized by qualities that are accommodating of the complexity of PB: distinct, value-laden, manifest behaviorally, cognitively and emotionally, are plural and sensitive to individual differences and are capable of balancing positive and negative outcomes. The current article will encourage further understanding, examination and implementation of CSs at the workplace, specifically for prosocial purposes, by exploring their conceptual fit and by reviewing initial empirical evidence.

Editorial: VIA Character Strengths: Theory, Research and Practice

“…While certain criteria, like the former, have been robustly researched, the latter has not undergone systematic empirical examination until this collection of articles-almost two decades into CS research. Another criterion demanding greater empirical attention includes CS as elevating and non-diminishing others, and calls to address this have been made previously (Freidlin and Littman-Ovadia, 2020). Future research would benefit from revisiting the work conducted under the various criteria, identifying understudied areas, and setting the stage for bridging the gaps to gain a deeper and wider understanding of CS.…”

Exploring the association between character strengths and moral functioning

“…These empirical findings are inconsistent with the six-virtue model initially proposed by Park and Peterson (2006), and perhaps raise questions to the conceptual validity of the original virtue model. However, only a few studies have explored the relationship between character strengths and moral functioning (e.g., Freidlin & Littman-Ovadia, 2020;McCullough et al, 2002;Park & Peterson, 2006). Most of these studies either focused on conceptual analysis or the association between character strengths and proxies for moral functioning (e.g., empathy), rather than its direct indicators, which were employed in our study.…”

“…Although some past theoretical and empirical works examined relationships between certain strengths and moral agency (e.g., Freidlin & Littman-Ovadia, 2020;McCullough et al, 2002;Park & Peterson, 2006), none of them explored which character strengths predict moral functioning in a quantitative and data-driven manner. Furthermore, the understanding of how character strengths as inhered in moral character relate to moral functioning could aid in advancing the study of ethics and behavior (Niemiec, 2013).…”

The role of integrated offline/online social activity and social identification in Facebook citizenship behaviour formation

“…According to extant research, social networking sites (SNSs) are important platforms for displaying online prosocial behaviours such as knowledge sharing, opposition to cyberbullying, online voicing, holding online charities, promoting community safety, and active civic participation (Bhatti et al, 2020;Dai et al, 2017;Kuem et al, 2017;Lavertu et al, 2020;Son et al, 2016;Wu et al, 2017). To be more specific, organisational citizenship behaviour (OCB), originally introduced by organisational behaviour studies (Freidlin and Littman-Ovadia, 2020;Podsakoff et al, 2009) to describe employees' display of discretionary extra-role behaviour to help their respective organisations (Organ, 1988), has been particularly important in online communities (Chiu, Huang, et al, 2015;Son et al, 2016;Wu et al, 2017). Xu et al (2012) asserted that while OCBs are vital to physical organisations, they are even more essential to online communities because of the virtual nature, voluntariness, and self-organisation in these communities.…”