Everyone views co-workers as potentially beneficial or detrimental to their own success. And this attitude shapes how you respond when a colleague needs help. Studies have shown that employee helpfulness is key to organisational effectiveness.
Attitudes change in response to the prevailing macroeconomic conditions. As the economic outlook darkens, employees’ attitudes toward one another become more harsh and less helpful. Thus doing business during a downturn is even more difficult.
Self-interest or panic response?
Studies conducted by authors of an article on the INSEAD business school website found that unhelpful behaviour in response to difficult economic times is due to an increased tendency to view success as a zero-sum game.
Emphasising community and cooperation
Workforce cohesion is often at its lowest when a company needs it most. Managers should stress joint goals. What also helps is if you have a collective-minded corporate culture from the start. If that is your case, you can just emphasise your existing values. Otherwise you need to establish new ones and also make them credible.
Employees’ awareness of interdependence means money
For example, new hires are highly dependent on colleagues to show them the ropes. If they have no support, their learning curve lengthens – and company money is lost. Sometimes you may even need to make formal changes: this may involve instituting joint financial incentives within a department.
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