Using anger as a mediating role to examine how compulsory citizenship behavior relates to voice behavior and work–family conflict

Compulsory citizenship behavior (CCB) is an emerging workplace issue. Drawing on affective events theory and crossover model, this study examines how employees compelled to perform organizational citizenship behavior may experience anger, which can manifest in workplace voice and produce crossover effects leading to work–family conflict (WFC). Anger is proposed as a mediator between CCB and both voice behavior at work and WFC at home. A three-stage, time-lagged survey was conducted with employees and their spouses in a large manufacturing company, yielding 450 valid responses. Results indicate that (1) employees expressed anger through constructive suggestions when pressured to perform additional tasks; (2) CCB contributed to WFC between employees and their spouses; and (3) anger mediated the relationship between CCB and its outcomes across work and family domains. Theoretical and practical implications for managing CCB and its emotional consequences are discussed.