The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of OCB? The Role of Social Support in Work–Family Enrichment in Contemporary India

Family is a major social institution that allows individuals to care for, protect and provide means of sustenance and socialization to its members. It is a bridge between the individual and society. Its study can reveal a lot about human progress. Unfortunately, very few studies are available for the Indian milieu. Modern-day Indian families are changing at multiple levels. The changes can be seen in size, structure, gender roles, lifestyle choices, parenting styles, moving away from the pronatalist bias and choosing alternatives to traditional marriage. That family is affected adversely due to adverse work conditions is well documented in the literature, but what is surprising is that showing prosocial behaviour at a workplace like organizational citizenship behaviour (OCB) also may have a detrimental effect on both self and family. The present chapter will discuss the theoretical underpinnings of the negative aspects of OCB and probe into how social support can help employees recognise the resources available to them and transfer those across the domains to be an efficient employee or a better family member thus achieving work–family enrichment in the context of the Indian families and arrive at the optimum OCB levels at their workplace.