Abstract
Ally work, or actions to support those from less advantaged social groups, shows promise in advancing social welfare in workplaces. Although much of the literature has explained factors that predict ally work, in this paper, we shift the conversation to understand the positive spillover of managers’ ally work on observing employees. We focus specifically on self ally work. Drawing from the theory of political ideology-as-motivated cognition, we propose that employees perceive managers who enact self ally work as more liberal (rather than conservative). Employees’ perceptions of managers’ liberalism, then, promote a positive unintended consequence in the form of increased employee engagement in volunteering. The spillover benefit, however, is limited to employees who share the manager’s political worldview (i.e., employees who are more liberal vs. conservative). In all, we predict that when managers enact self ally work, employees will perceive their manager as more liberal and be more likely to agree to managers’ volunteering requests if they are also more liberal. We identify positive appraisal of managers’ request as an additional causal mechanism that explains these effects. Findings across six studies—both field and experimental—support our proposals. Implications for theory and practice are reviewed.
Ally work, or actions to support those from less advantaged social groups, shows promise in advancing social welfare in workplaces. Although much of the literature has explained factors that predict ally work, in this paper, we shift the conversation to understand the positive spillover of managers’ ally work on observing employees. We focus specifically on self ally work. Drawing from the theory of political ideology-as-motivated cognition, we propose that employees perceive managers who enact self ally work as more liberal (rather than conservative). Employees’ perceptions of managers’ liberalism, then, promote a positive unintended consequence in the form of increased employee engagement in volunteering. The spillover benefit, however, is limited to employees who share the manager’s political worldview (i.e., employees who are more liberal vs. conservative). In all, we predict that when managers enact self ally work, employees will perceive their manager as more liberal and be more likely to agree to managers’ volunteering requests if they are also more liberal. We identify positive appraisal of managers’ request as an additional causal mechanism that explains these effects. Findings across six studies—both field and experimental—support our proposals. Implications for theory and practice are reviewed.
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Of note here is the socially constructed nature of political ideology. The “discursive superstructure” of a political ideology, or the network of socially constructed beliefs and narratives that become associated with a political ideology, is, in part, influenced by social “elites”—e.g., elected political officials, business/cultural leaders, media representatives (Jost et al., 2009, p. 315). So, even though within a given time and place, certain beliefs and narratives are associated with the labels “liberalism” and “conservativism,” this may shift over time and place (Ellis & Stimson, 2012).
Note that conservatives are also concerned with issues of equality (see Graham et al., 2013). However, a key substantive difference between liberalism and conservativism is the benefits/tradeoffs of change and stability. Conservatives are supportive of a measured and gradual approach to change and these social institutions and norms that were pivotal for providing order and structure to chaotic and uncertain environments (e.g., Durkheim, 1957).
We first conducted a pretest, confirming the charity is viewed as apolitical (see Supplemental Pilot Study #2 in the Supplemental Materials).
Participants were asked what the political ideology of the team leader was (1 = conservative, 2 = moderate, 3 = liberal). A chi-square test showed that the relation between condition and ideology of the team manager was significant, X2 (2) = 179.83, p < .001, such that participants in the conservative condition were more likely to identify the manager as conservative while participants in the liberal condition were more likely to identify the manager as liberal.
When including these participants, the results for H3 are consistent with what is reported in the paper. The results for H2 show that while the interaction of condition × focal ideology on volunteering is significant (b = .19, SE = .09, p = .037), the slope of the liberal line is marginally significant (b = − .51, SE = .28, p = .071).
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Smeal College of Business, The Pennsylvania State University, 449 Business Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA
Carolyn T. Dang
UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 4727 McColl Building, Campus Box 3490, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA
Marie S. Mitchell
Correspondence to Carolyn T. Dang.
The authors declare no competing interests.
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
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Sometimes, employees may engage in behaviors at work that go above and beyond their job duties, and.
Volunteer: volunteer to participate in organization sponsored volunteering events. Such sponsored Employee Volunteer Programs (EVPs) are organizationally planned and sponsored events in which employees can volunteer their time, effort, and skills to charities or other organizations.
Helping: engage in acts that provide help to others and/or to their organizations overall. For example, employees may help others learn about/improve their work, assist others with their work tasks, etc.
Voice: make innovative suggestions for change and recommend modifications to standard procedures. For example, employees may speak up with ideas for new projects or changes in procedures, make suggestions for ways to improve the quality of work life, get involved in tasks that benefit their organization’s production/performance goals, etc.
In-role: employees may engage in behaviors at work that meet and fulfill their job duties. For example, employees may perform the tasks that are expected of them as part of their job, try to meet performance expectations, etc.
Within the workplace, managers engage in different behaviors. We will be describing the actions of a senior vice president at a Fortune 100 consumer products company. This person engages in different types of managerial behaviors at work. Typically, managerial behaviors include but are not limited to:
Fulfilling the responsibilities specified in the job description
Performing tasks that are expected as part of the job
Meeting performance expectations
Completing job tasks
Within the workplace, managers engage in different behaviors. We will be describing the actions of a senior vice president at a Fortune 100 consumer products company. This person engages in behaviors at work to support colleagues who belong to underrepresented social groups. Typically, these groups include, but are not limited to, racial/ethnic minorities (Blacks/African-Americans, Hispanic [non-Caucasian], Native Americans, etc.); females; individuals from the LBGTQ community; and individuals with disabilities. Specifically, to support underrepresented colleagues, this person engages in behaviors to change/improve aspects of themselves—e.g., knowledge, attitudes, consumption patterns—so that they can better serve underrepresented colleagues. For example, this person:
Seeks out relevant materials (e.g., books, articles, podcasts) about the experiences of underrepresented colleagues
Reflects on their privilege and how it can be used to advocate for underrepresented colleagues
Thinks critically about their advantaged position in society and how it can be used to support underrepresented colleagues
Tries to change aspects of themselves (e.g., thoughts, feelings, actions) that prevent them from being an ally to underrepresented colleagues
Well once I was put in charge of my team at my company. I really tried to focus on ways to act like a manager to these people. So I focused on fulfilling the responsibilities specified in my job description. Some specific things I did was seek out a bunch of books, articles, and podcasts about being a good manager. I also reflected a lot on my past experience and how it could be used to be a manager to the people I was leading. I also thought critically about my job responsibilities and how to be a manager. I also did my best to constantly be aware and behave according to performance expectations of a team manager. For example, I helped create people’s schedules, answered questions if they had scheduling conflict, and made sure everyone completed the job tasks that were assigned to them. In short, I really just did my best to be a good manager.
Self Ally WorkWell once I was put in charge of my team at my company. I really tried to focus on ways to support people from underrepresented social groups in society. So I focused on changing and improving aspects of myself to serve underrepresented team mates. Some specific things I did was seek out a bunch of books, articles, and podcasts about the experiences of minorities in society. I also reflected a lot about my privilege, and how it can be used to advocate for underrepresented people I was leading. I also thought really critically about my advantaged position in society and how it can used to support underrepresented people. I also did my best to constantly be aware and change my thoughts, feelings, and actions to reduce my implicit bias that may have prevented underrepresented people from opportunities. For example, because I’m privileged and people like me are privileged, I took time to learn from minorities and share their experiences to the overall group. In short, I really just did my best to be an ally.
Study 6: Two Conditions (Manager Conservative vs. Liberal)I think it’s best to stand on the shoulders of giants. I look to leaders I believe make a difference and hold the beliefs I do. I’m ideologically conservative [liberal] and look at leaders who share my beliefs and whose beliefs mirror mine.
Volunteering Description and Request from Manager to VolunteerVolunteering Instructions (Studies 3 and 5)The Fortune 100 company you read about sponsors Employee Volunteer Programs (EVP), which are planned events in which employees at the company can volunteer their time, effort, and skills to charities or other organizations. Suppose the senior VP is in charge of choosing a charity/organization in which employees may volunteer. Because participation in this charity/organization is not required as part of your formal job duties, the senior VP is asking for employees’ voluntary participation. The senior VP has chosen United Way. United Way is an international network of over 1800 local nonprofit fundraising affiliates. United Way works with companies, governments, nonprofits, and other organizations to address complex challenges on a worldwide scale.
Manager Request for Employee Volunteer (Studies 4 and 6)Okay hi again. As the manager, there were certain things I could choose from in my last task and I chose info on volunteer programs. You know there are employee volunteer programs, which are planed events in which employees can volunteer their time, effort, and skills to a charity. It’s not required as part of the job. The charity that I’m requesting that you participate in is United Way. This is a description of the charity: “United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit fundraising affiliates. United Way works with companies, governments, nonprofits and other organizations to address complex challenges. We will be sponsoring events with United Way to support nonprofit agencies and organizations that do so much. This year United Way is expecting over 800 volunteers to complete over 60 regional projects!”.
As the manager of the team, I am requesting that you volunteer and participate.
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Dang, C.T., Mitchell, M.S. The Positive Spillover of Managers’ Ally Work: Perceptions of Manager Liberalism and Its Effect on Employee Volunteering. J Bus Psychol 40, 359–384 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-024-09952-9
Accepted: 11 April 2024
Published: 26 April 2024
Issue Date: April 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-024-09952-9
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