Being a Good Citizen in a Hybrid Work Setting: What Does It Mean for Professionals?

The return-to-office policies by major global organizations have reignited debates on how hybrid work affects employees’ performance and productivity. While a great deal of research has examined the implications of hybrid work on employees’ task performance, how hybrid work affects extra-role performance or organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) remain largely underexplored. We argue that the transition to hybrid work arrangements, characterized by the multiplicity of workplaces and reliance on communication technologies, fundamentally changes the nature of OCBs and demands a new understanding that aligns with the current nature of work. Through a qualitative study with 40 consultants working hybrid in UK PSFs, we define and discuss hybrid OCBs as technologically mediated, self-protective citizenship behaviors employees strategically engage in to maintain a positive image and quality workplace relationships in hybrid work settings. Our findings reveal how professionals engage in two forms of OCBs while working hybrid: managing hybrid visibility and humanizing hybrid relationships. These findings highlight how the hybrid nature of work shapes the conceptualization of hybrid OCBs and makes important contributions to the OCB and hybrid work literatures. We also discuss the practical implications of this research for professional employees and professional service organizations that implement hybrid work arrangements.