Generosity as a Competitive Advantage in the Workplace

Nathan Podsakoff, Stephen Robbins Professor of Management and Organizations in the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona, was cited in a November 13 Inc. article on how kindness is a competitive advantage at work.

The article notes that “generosity—being a sharing, giving person—not only increases your productivity, it also helps your colleagues work more effectively,” referencing a Harvard Business Review article by Adam Grant. Grant cites the meta-analysis led by Podsakoff that was co-authored by Philip Podsakoff (University of Florida), Steven Whiting (University of Central Florida) and Brian Blume (University of Michigan-Flint), and was published in the Journal of Applied Psychology.

The research examines “38 studies of organizational behavior, representing 3,500 business units and many different industries, and found that the link between employee giving and desirable business outcomes was surprisingly robust,” says Grant. “Higher rates of giving were predictive of higher unit profitability, productivity, efficiency and customer satisfaction, along with lower costs and turnover rates. When employees act like givers, they facilitate efficient problem solving and coordination and build cohesive, supportive cultures that appeal to customers, suppliers and top talent alike.”

Podsakoff joined the Eller College of Management in 2007 after earning his PhD in Organizational Behavior and Human Resources from the University of Florida. His areas of expertise include employee citizenship and prosocial behavior, organizational stress, leadership, scholarly impact in the field of management, and research methods in organizational research. He is a member of the Academy of Management, the American Psychological Association and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology.