When Crisis Undermines Change: How Confidence and Connection Sustain Initiative

What is it about?

This study explores how employees’ rumination over pandemic threats lowers their willingness to engage in change-oriented organizational citizenship behavior (OCB)—voluntary efforts to improve or challenge the status quo. Based on Conservation of Resources theory, it argues that persistent crisis-related worries drain emotional energy, reducing motivation for change. However, personal and relational resources—self-efficacy, organization-based self-esteem, goal congruence, and harmony—help protect against depletion and sustain constructive contribution. Using survey data from employees in a Portuguese banking organization collected during the COVID-19 pandemic, the study finds that those who felt greater threat from the crisis were less likely to take initiative or advocate for organizational improvement. Yet, this negative effect was weaker among employees who felt confident in their abilities, valued by their organization, aligned with their coworkers’ goals, and supported by harmonious relationships. These resources provided emotional stability and purpose, allowing employees to channel stress into proactive problem-solving rather than withdrawal. The results highlight that during crises, employees’ capacity for change-oriented behavior depends not just on external stability but on the availability of personal and relational resources that replenish energy. By nurturing confidence, shared purpose, and supportive relationships, organizations can sustain adaptability and innovation even when employees face external uncertainty or personal fear.

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Photo by visuals on Unsplash

Photo by visuals on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This study is unique in integrating four personal and relational resources—self-efficacy, organization-based self-esteem, goal congruence, and interpersonal harmony—into a single framework explaining when pandemic-related stress undermines proactive behavior. It extends COR theory by demonstrating that employees’ emotional resilience and social alignment jointly buffer the energy depletion caused by external crises, sustaining their engagement in change-oriented OCB. It is also timely, given that global crises increasingly test employees’ emotional and psychological endurance. Conducted in Portugal amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the study underscores the importance of building cultures that combine confidence and connection, enabling workers to maintain initiative even under threat. The findings offer a vital lesson for leaders: in times of turbulence, strengthening employees’ self-belief, belonging, and interpersonal harmony is not merely supportive—it is strategic for keeping organizations adaptive and forward-looking.