Scale library · HRM & organizational behavior
OCB scale (OCBI/OCBO): Lee & Allen (2002)
Organizational citizenship behavior covers the voluntary things employees do beyond their assigned tasks that benefit colleagues or the organization. Lee and Allen (2002) built a 16-item measure following Williams and Anderson's (1991) split into OCBI (directed at individuals) and OCBO (directed at the organization), 8 items each, worded so as not to overlap with deviant behavior. All 16 items are given here. It is often an outcome in theses on leadership, organizational support, commitment and work engagement.
Cite the original, not the blog.
- Model or scale: OCB
- Constructs: 2
- Items: 16
Original English items
Items marked (R) are reverse-coded: recode them before computing reliability or scale scores. Replace bracketed placeholders such as [system] with the name of the system, brand or organization you study.
OCB directed at individuals (OCBI) (OCBI, 8 items)
| Code | Item wording | Reverse-coded |
|---|---|---|
| OCBI1 | Help others who have been absent. | No |
| OCBI2 | Willingly give your time to help others who have work-related problems. | No |
| OCBI3 | Adjust your work schedule to accommodate other employees’ requests for time off. | No |
| OCBI4 | Go out of the way to make newer employees feel welcome in the work group. | No |
| OCBI5 | Show genuine concern and courtesy toward co-workers, even under the most trying business or personal situations. | No |
| OCBI6 | Give up time to help others who have work or non-work problems. | No |
| OCBI7 | Assist others with their duties. | No |
| OCBI8 | I share personal property with others to help their work. | No |
OCB directed at the organization (OCBO) (OCBO, 8 items)
| Code | Item wording | Reverse-coded |
|---|---|---|
| OCBO1 | Attend functions that are not required but that help the organizational image | No |
| OCBO2 | Keep up with developments in the organization | No |
| OCBO3 | Defend the organization when other employees criticize it | No |
| OCBO4 | Show pride when representing the organization in public | No |
| OCBO5 | Offer ideas to improve the functioning of the organization | No |
| OCBO6 | Express loyalty toward the organization | No |
| OCBO7 | Take action to protect the organization from potential problems | No |
| OCBO8 | Demonstrate concern about the image of the organization | No |
Response scale
7-point frequency scale (1 = Never … 7 = Always); respondents say how often they engage in each behavior. Some later studies switch to a 5- or 7-point agreement scale; if you do, say so in your method section.
Licence and permission
The items are published in the original article in the Journal of Applied Psychology and widely used in research; we found no specific terms of use from the authors. Cite the original article.
Sources (APA 7)
- Lee, K., & Allen, N. J. (2002). Organizational citizenship behavior and workplace deviance: The role of affect and cognitions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(1), 131–142. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.87.1.131
- Sun, M., Luo, L. T., & Zhao, D. N. (2026). The contingency effects of abusive supervision of coworker on helping behaviors: The relationships among the perpetrator, the victim, and the third party. Frontiers in Psychology, 17, Article 1755436. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1755436
- Williams, L. J., & Anderson, S. E. (1991). Job satisfaction and organizational commitment as predictors of organizational citizenship and in-role behaviors. Journal of Management, 17(3), 601–617. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920639101700305
Vietnamese translation
A Vietnamese translation of every item, with sample-size advice and studies that used the scale, is on the Vietnamese page for this scale.