Linking self-compassion to helping behavior: The moderating effect of supervisor bottom-line mentality

Abstract

Organizational research has recently begun to explore self-compassion; however, empirical studies have primarily focused on its effects within individuals. Thus, the impact of employee self-compassion on interpersonal behavior and its underlying mechanisms remain relatively unexplored. Drawing on conservation of resources (COR) theory, we examine how self-compassion influences helping behavior via perspective-taking. We hypothesize that self-compassion can foster employee helping behavior by enhancing perspective-taking, and that supervisor bottom-line mentality can inhibit the process. To test our hypotheses, we conducted two empirical studies: the first is a scenario-based experiment with 110 participants and the second is a multi-wave, multi-source survey involving 618 leader–subordinate dyads. Our results reveal that self-compassion can foster employee helping behavior by enhancing perspective-taking. Moreover, a strong supervisor bottom-line mentality can inhibit these positive effects. These findings provide new insights into the role of self-compassion in shaping interpersonal relationships within organizations and underscore the potential negative impact of a bottom-line mentality among supervisors. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.