How employees react to unsolicited and solicited advice in the workplace: Implications for using advice, learning,
Blaine Landis1, Colin M Fisher1, Jochen I Menges2
1University College London.
The Journal of Applied Psychology
|June 10, 2021
Summary
Employees may not use unsolicited advice because they suspect the giver has selfish motives. Solicited advice is more likely to be used and improve performance, as it is seen as helpful.
Area of Science:
- Organizational Behavior
- Social Psychology
- Management Science
Background:
- Employees often hesitate to seek advice, missing potential benefits.
- Unsolicited advice offers a way to transfer knowledge without explicit requests.
- Understanding employee reactions to different advice types is crucial for effective knowledge sharing.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how employees react to unsolicited versus solicited advice.
- To examine the role of perceived motives in shaping advice utilization and impact.
- To determine factors influencing the effectiveness of workplace advice.
Main Methods:
- An organizational network study analyzing advice ties.
- An experience-sampling study tracking daily advice episodes.
- An experiment manipulating advice solicitation and advisor relationship.
Main Results:
- Recipients attribute self-serving motives to unsolicited advice and prosocial motives to solicited advice.
- Perceived motives significantly influence advice use, learning, and performance outcomes.
- Advice effectiveness was not moderated by friendship, network overlap, or advisor position.
Conclusions:
- Perceptions of the advisor's motive are key to understanding advice impact.
- Strategic navigation of perceived motives can enhance the effectiveness of workplace advice.
- This research clarifies how to maximize the benefits of advice in organizational settings.
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