The double-edged sword effect of proactive helping behavior on coworker relationships

doi:10.3724/SP.J.1041.2025.1083

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CHEN Liangyong, CAO Zhonghuai, WAN Wenhua, ZHANG Weiting. (2025). The double-edged sword effect of proactive helping behavior on coworker relationships. Acta Psychologica Sinica, 57(6), 1083-1097.

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https://journal.psych.ac.cn/acps/EN/Y2025/V57/I6/1083

Figures/Tables 6

Table 1 Descriptive statistics and correlations in Study 1

Variables	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
1. Positive affect		-0.14^*	0.33^**	0.25^**	0.06	0.23^**
2. Negative affect	-0.19^**		0.08	0.17^**	0.04	0.03
3. Proactive helping behavior	0.31^**	0.39^**		0.45^**	0.29^**	0.42^**
4. Gratitude	0.25^**	0.33^**	0.38^**		0.02	0.45^**
5. Ability-based Mianzi stress	0.16^**	0.16^**	0.46^**	0.04		-0.27^**
6. Coworker relationship	0.09^*	0.20^**	0.18^**	0.49^**	-0.42^**
7. Gender	0.02	-0.41^**	-0.10^*	0.05	-0.12^**	0.25^**
8. Age	0.52^**	0.17^**	0.48^**	-0.04	0.21^**	-0.01	-0.01
9. Education	0.11^*	0.07	0.26^**	0.01	0.08	-0.04	-0.34^**	0.07
10. Tenure	0.42^**	0.18^**	0.44^**	0.01	0.13^**	0.21^**	0.14^**	0.88^**	-0.19^**
11. Tenure with colleagues	0.43^**	0.07	0.31^**	0.18^**	-0.02	0.21^*	0.16^*	0.65^**	-0.21^*	0.67^**
12. Interaction frequency with colleagues	-0.02	-0.04	-0.18^**	0.33^**	0.08	-0.02	0.09^*	-0.38^**	-0.07	-0.32^**	-0.24^**
13. Rank	0.29^**	0.28^**	0.33^**	-0.02	0.18^**	-0.05	-0.21^**	0.66^**	0.30^**	0.50^**	0.30^**	-0.41^**
14. Social desirability	0.07	0.20^**	0.13^**	0.19^**	-0.34^**	0.40^**	0.13^**	0.15^**	-0.12^**	0.15^**	0.14^*	-0.17^**	0.15^**
15. Humility	-0.12^**	0.21^**	-0.03	0.33^**	-0.49^**	0.43^**	-0.26^**	-0.18^**	0.18^**	-0.18^**	-0.08	0.12^**	-0.001	0.36^**
M	3.53	2.35	3.47	3.41	2.87	3.09	1.47	33.15	3.26	9.42	2.77	4.53	1.77	3.45	3.44
SD _{within-individual level}	0.90	0.76	1.22	1.28	0.95	1.04
SD _{between-individual level}	0.56	0.51	0.67	0.93	0.58	0.57	0.50	6.46	0.63	6.72	1.28	1.56	0.87	0.80	0.73

Table 1 Descriptive statistics and correlations in Study 1

Variables	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
1. Positive affect		-0.14^*	0.33^**	0.25^**	0.06	0.23^**
2. Negative affect	-0.19^**		0.08	0.17^**	0.04	0.03
3. Proactive helping behavior	0.31^**	0.39^**		0.45^**	0.29^**	0.42^**
4. Gratitude	0.25^**	0.33^**	0.38^**		0.02	0.45^**
5. Ability-based Mianzi stress	0.16^**	0.16^**	0.46^**	0.04		-0.27^**
6. Coworker relationship	0.09^*	0.20^**	0.18^**	0.49^**	-0.42^**
7. Gender	0.02	-0.41^**	-0.10^*	0.05	-0.12^**	0.25^**
8. Age	0.52^**	0.17^**	0.48^**	-0.04	0.21^**	-0.01	-0.01
9. Education	0.11^*	0.07	0.26^**	0.01	0.08	-0.04	-0.34^**	0.07
10. Tenure	0.42^**	0.18^**	0.44^**	0.01	0.13^**	0.21^**	0.14^**	0.88^**	-0.19^**
11. Tenure with colleagues	0.43^**	0.07	0.31^**	0.18^**	-0.02	0.21^*	0.16^*	0.65^**	-0.21^*	0.67^**
12. Interaction frequency with colleagues	-0.02	-0.04	-0.18^**	0.33^**	0.08	-0.02	0.09^*	-0.38^**	-0.07	-0.32^**	-0.24^**
13. Rank	0.29^**	0.28^**	0.33^**	-0.02	0.18^**	-0.05	-0.21^**	0.66^**	0.30^**	0.50^**	0.30^**	-0.41^**
14. Social desirability	0.07	0.20^**	0.13^**	0.19^**	-0.34^**	0.40^**	0.13^**	0.15^**	-0.12^**	0.15^**	0.14^*	-0.17^**	0.15^**
15. Humility	-0.12^**	0.21^**	-0.03	0.33^**	-0.49^**	0.43^**	-0.26^**	-0.18^**	0.18^**	-0.18^**	-0.08	0.12^**	-0.001	0.36^**
M	3.53	2.35	3.47	3.41	2.87	3.09	1.47	33.15	3.26	9.42	2.77	4.53	1.77	3.45	3.44
SD _{within-individual level}	0.90	0.76	1.22	1.28	0.95	1.04
SD _{between-individual level}	0.56	0.51	0.67	0.93	0.58	0.57	0.50	6.46	0.63	6.72	1.28	1.56	0.87	0.80	0.73

Table 2 Results of Multilevel Path Analysis in Study 1

Variables	Mediator variable				Dependent variable
	Gratitude		Ability-based Mianzi stress		Coworker relationship
	b	SE	b	SE	b	SE
Controls
Gender	0.09	0.27	-0.20	0.13	0.23	0.13
Age	-0.07	0.04	0.03	0.02	-0.09	0.02
Education	0.17	0.18	0.02	0.13	0.12	0.11
Tenure	0.03	0.04	-0.01	0.02	0.08^***	0.02
Tenure with colleagues	0.27^*	0.14	-0.05	0.05	0.01	0.06
Interaction frequency with colleagues	0.21^***	0.06	0.09	0.03	-0.05	0.04
Rank	0.13	0.16	0.08	0.10	-0.002	0.10
Social desirability	0.15	0.14	-0.01	0.08	0.08	0.08
Positive affect	0.17^**	0.06	-0.06	005	0.13^*	0.05
Negative affect	0.06	0.07	0.06	0.06	-0.03	0.07
Day of week	-0.01	0.06	-0.03	0.06	0.06	0.07
SIN	-0.04	0.09	-0.14	0.10	0.13	0.12
COS	-0.01	0.04	0.04	0.06	-0.04	0.05
Gratitude (t-1)	-0.01	0.03
Ability-based Mianzi stress (t-1)			0.04	0.04
Coworker relationship (t-1)					-0.10^*	0.05
Main predictor/moderator
Proactive helping behavior	0.42^***	0.07	0.16^*	0.07	0.34^***	0.08
Gratitude					0.18^**	0.06
Ability-based Mianzi stress					-0.33^***	0.06
Humility	0.28	0.16	-0.40^***	0.11	0.18	0.10
Interaction
Proactive Helping Behavior × Humility	0.30^**	0.10	-0.28^**	0.08

Table 2 Results of Multilevel Path Analysis in Study 1

Variables	Mediator variable				Dependent variable
	Gratitude		Ability-based Mianzi stress		Coworker relationship
	b	SE	b	SE	b	SE
Controls
Gender	0.09	0.27	-0.20	0.13	0.23	0.13
Age	-0.07	0.04	0.03	0.02	-0.09	0.02
Education	0.17	0.18	0.02	0.13	0.12	0.11
Tenure	0.03	0.04	-0.01	0.02	0.08^***	0.02
Tenure with colleagues	0.27^*	0.14	-0.05	0.05	0.01	0.06
Interaction frequency with colleagues	0.21^***	0.06	0.09	0.03	-0.05	0.04
Rank	0.13	0.16	0.08	0.10	-0.002	0.10
Social desirability	0.15	0.14	-0.01	0.08	0.08	0.08
Positive affect	0.17^**	0.06	-0.06	005	0.13^*	0.05
Negative affect	0.06	0.07	0.06	0.06	-0.03	0.07
Day of week	-0.01	0.06	-0.03	0.06	0.06	0.07
SIN	-0.04	0.09	-0.14	0.10	0.13	0.12
COS	-0.01	0.04	0.04	0.06	-0.04	0.05
Gratitude (t-1)	-0.01	0.03
Ability-based Mianzi stress (t-1)			0.04	0.04
Coworker relationship (t-1)					-0.10^*	0.05
Main predictor/moderator
Proactive helping behavior	0.42^***	0.07	0.16^*	0.07	0.34^***	0.08
Gratitude					0.18^**	0.06
Ability-based Mianzi stress					-0.33^***	0.06
Humility	0.28	0.16	-0.40^***	0.11	0.18	0.10
Interaction
Proactive Helping Behavior × Humility	0.30^**	0.10	-0.28^**	0.08

Table 3 Moderated Mediation Effects in Study 1

Variable	Proactive helping behavior → Gratitude → Coworker relationship		Proactive helping behavior → Ability-based Mianzi stress → Coworker relationship
Variable	Indirect effect	CI (95%)	Indirect effect	CI (95%)
High humility	0.26	0.14, 0.39	-0.0001	-0.04, 0.04
Low humility	0.07	-0.03, 0.17	-0.09	-0.17, -0.03
Difference	0.19	0.07, 0.33	0.09	0.02, 0.14

Table 3 Moderated Mediation Effects in Study 1

Variable	Proactive helping behavior → Gratitude → Coworker relationship		Proactive helping behavior → Ability-based Mianzi stress → Coworker relationship
Variable	Indirect effect	CI (95%)	Indirect effect	CI (95%)
High humility	0.26	0.14, 0.39	-0.0001	-0.04, 0.04
Low humility	0.07	-0.03, 0.17	-0.09	-0.17, -0.03
Difference	0.19	0.07, 0.33	0.09	0.02, 0.14

Table 4 Descriptive statistics and correlations in Study 2

Variables	M	SD	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
1. Gender	-	-
2. Age	2.94	1.00	-0.21^**
3. Education	2.30	0.81	0.01	-0.06
4. Tenure	11.81	10.11	-0.32^**	0.65^**	0.10
5. Tenure with colleagues	7.74	7.76	-0.22^**	0.47^**	0.02	0.73^**
6. Interaction frequency with colleagues	4.94	1.72	0.14^*	-0.39^**	0.01	-0.24^**	-0.21^**
7. Rank	1.73	0.92	-0.06	0.21^**	0.19^*	0.25^**	0.24^**	-0.09
8. Social desirability	3.84	0.89	-0.10	0.06	-0.07	-0.04	0.03	0.04	-0.11
9. Proactive helping behavior	0.50	0.50	-0.09	0.07	0.02	0.00	-0.06	0.01	0.01	0.09
10. Gratitude	4.58	0.54	-0.12	0.01	0.10	-0.02	0.01	0.04	-0.06	0.38^**	0.37^**
11. Ability-based Mianzi stress	2.80	1.29	0.12	0.16^*	0.32^**	0.06	-0.09	-0.17^*	0.24^**	-0.22^**	0.12	-0.11
12. Humility	3.69	0.80	-0.15^*	-0.14^*	-0.25^**	-0.06	0.01	0.08	-0.12	0.37^**	0.04	0.18^**	-0.47^**
13. Coworker relationship	3.78	0.95	-0.11	-0.09	-0.12	0.04	0.09	0.15^*	-0.09	0.17^**	0.05	0.27^**	-0.38^**	0.34^**

Table 4 Descriptive statistics and correlations in Study 2

Variables	M	SD	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
1. Gender	-	-
2. Age	2.94	1.00	-0.21^**
3. Education	2.30	0.81	0.01	-0.06
4. Tenure	11.81	10.11	-0.32^**	0.65^**	0.10
5. Tenure with colleagues	7.74	7.76	-0.22^**	0.47^**	0.02	0.73^**
6. Interaction frequency with colleagues	4.94	1.72	0.14^*	-0.39^**	0.01	-0.24^**	-0.21^**
7. Rank	1.73	0.92	-0.06	0.21^**	0.19^*	0.25^**	0.24^**	-0.09
8. Social desirability	3.84	0.89	-0.10	0.06	-0.07	-0.04	0.03	0.04	-0.11
9. Proactive helping behavior	0.50	0.50	-0.09	0.07	0.02	0.00	-0.06	0.01	0.01	0.09
10. Gratitude	4.58	0.54	-0.12	0.01	0.10	-0.02	0.01	0.04	-0.06	0.38^**	0.37^**
11. Ability-based Mianzi stress	2.80	1.29	0.12	0.16^*	0.32^**	0.06	-0.09	-0.17^*	0.24^**	-0.22^**	0.12	-0.11
12. Humility	3.69	0.80	-0.15^*	-0.14^*	-0.25^**	-0.06	0.01	0.08	-0.12	0.37^**	0.04	0.18^**	-0.47^**
13. Coworker relationship	3.78	0.95	-0.11	-0.09	-0.12	0.04	0.09	0.15^*	-0.09	0.17^**	0.05	0.27^**	-0.38^**	0.34^**

Table 5 Results of Regression Analysis in Study 2

Variables	Gratitude						Ability-based Mianzi stress
	Model 1		Model 2		Model 3		Model 4		Model 5		Model 6
	b	SE	b	SE	b	SE	b	SE	b	SE	b	SE
(Constant)	4.51	0.25	4.40	0.23	4.35	0.22	0.77	0.56	1.47	0.53	1.58	0.51
Gender	-0.11	0.07	-0.07	0.07	-0.09	0.07	0.34^*	0.16	0.26	0.15	0.30	0.15
Age	0.02	0.05	0.01	0.05	0.02	0.04	0.28^*	0.11	0.14	0.10	0.12	0.10
Education	0.10^*	0.04	0.11^*	0.04	0.13^**	0.04	0.45^***	0.10	0.32^***	0.09	0.28^**	0.09
Tenure	-0.004	0.01	-0.01	0.01	-0.01	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.01
Tenure with colleagues	0.003	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.01	-0.05^**	0.02	-0.04^**	0.01	-0.03^*	0.01
Interaction frequency with colleagues	0.01	0.02	0.01	0.02	0.01	0.02	-0.10^*	0.05	-0.09^*	0.05	-0.08	0.04
Rank	-0.03	0.04	-0.03	0.04	-0.02	0.04	0.23^*	0.09	0.22^**	0.08	0.20^*	0.08
Social desirability	0.22^***	0.04	0.19^***	0.04	0.16^***	0.04	-0.24^**	0.09	-0.09	0.09	-0.01	0.09
Manipulation of Proactive Helping Behavior			0.14^***	0.02	0.15^***	0.02			0.18^***	0.05	0.17^***	0.05
Humility			0.02	0.05	-0.08	0.05			-0.58^***	0.10	-0.38^***	0.11
Manipulation of Proactive Helping Behavior × Humility					0.14^***	0.03					-0.30^***	0.07
R2	0.17		0.30		0.36		0.27		0.39		0.43
ΔR²	0.17^***		0.13^***		0.06^***		0.27^***		0.12^***		0.04^***
F	5.47^***		19.13^***		19.57^***		9.38^***		20.36^***		16.86^***

Table 5 Results of Regression Analysis in Study 2

Variables	Gratitude						Ability-based Mianzi stress
	Model 1		Model 2		Model 3		Model 4		Model 5		Model 6
	b	SE	b	SE	b	SE	b	SE	b	SE	b	SE
(Constant)	4.51	0.25	4.40	0.23	4.35	0.22	0.77	0.56	1.47	0.53	1.58	0.51
Gender	-0.11	0.07	-0.07	0.07	-0.09	0.07	0.34^*	0.16	0.26	0.15	0.30	0.15
Age	0.02	0.05	0.01	0.05	0.02	0.04	0.28^*	0.11	0.14	0.10	0.12	0.10
Education	0.10^*	0.04	0.11^*	0.04	0.13^**	0.04	0.45^***	0.10	0.32^***	0.09	0.28^**	0.09
Tenure	-0.004	0.01	-0.01	0.01	-0.01	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.01
Tenure with colleagues	0.003	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.01	-0.05^**	0.02	-0.04^**	0.01	-0.03^*	0.01
Interaction frequency with colleagues	0.01	0.02	0.01	0.02	0.01	0.02	-0.10^*	0.05	-0.09^*	0.05	-0.08	0.04
Rank	-0.03	0.04	-0.03	0.04	-0.02	0.04	0.23^*	0.09	0.22^**	0.08	0.20^*	0.08
Social desirability	0.22^***	0.04	0.19^***	0.04	0.16^***	0.04	-0.24^**	0.09	-0.09	0.09	-0.01	0.09
Manipulation of Proactive Helping Behavior			0.14^***	0.02	0.15^***	0.02			0.18^***	0.05	0.17^***	0.05
Humility			0.02	0.05	-0.08	0.05			-0.58^***	0.10	-0.38^***	0.11
Manipulation of Proactive Helping Behavior × Humility					0.14^***	0.03					-0.30^***	0.07
R2	0.17		0.30		0.36		0.27		0.39		0.43
ΔR²	0.17^***		0.13^***		0.06^***		0.27^***		0.12^***		0.04^***
F	5.47^***		19.13^***		19.57^***		9.38^***		20.36^***		16.86^***

Table 6 Moderated Mediation Effects in Study 2

Variable	Proactive helping behavior → Gratitude → Coworker relationship		Proactive helping behavior → Ability-based Mianzi stress → Coworker relationship
Variable	Indirect effect	CI (95%)	Indirect effect	CI (95%)
High humility	0.11	0.02, 0.19	0.02	-0.02, 0.05
Low humility	0.01	-0.01, 0.06	-0.09	-0.15, -0.04
Difference	0.10	0.02, 0.18	0.11	0.04, 0.19

Table 6 Moderated Mediation Effects in Study 2

Variable	Proactive helping behavior → Gratitude → Coworker relationship		Proactive helping behavior → Ability-based Mianzi stress → Coworker relationship
Variable	Indirect effect	CI (95%)	Indirect effect	CI (95%)
High humility	0.11	0.02, 0.19	0.02	-0.02, 0.05
Low humility	0.01	-0.01, 0.06	-0.09	-0.15, -0.04
Difference	0.10	0.02, 0.18	0.11	0.04, 0.19

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