An Empirical Assessment of the Relationship between General Citizenship and Work Outcomes

This article examined the relationship between general citizenship (e.g., political participation, community involvement, general altruism, and disillusionment with government) and two work outcomes (perceived performance and turnover intentions). Two alternative models were proposed in order to test whether the effect of citizenship behavior and orientations were direct or mediated by participation in decision-making. The respondents in the survey were 268 nursing personnel from public health organizations in Israel. Path analysis using LISREL VIII showed that the direct model best fit the data. This model supports the notion that the resources acquired by involvement in the civic setting can contribute in the work setting. The findings also showed the complexity of the relationship between community involvement and work outcomes. This variable has a negative relationship with perceived performance but a positive one with participation in decision-making. The article concludes with several implications for the continuing examination of general citizenship in its relationship to behavior at work.