Research has identified either the positive or negative impact of reactive helping on helpers, while overlooking the potential dual effects of this daily work encounter. Drawing from conservation of resources (COR) theory and the helping literature, we propose that reactive helping, on the one hand, elicits helpers’ daily work interruption, leading to negative affect, while on the other hand, it fosters a sense of relatedness, which in turn generates positive affect. Due to the interactive nature of reactive helping, we also propose that competitive psychological climate moderates the relationships between reactive helping and both work interruption and the sense of relatedness. Via a daily diary study across 10 consecutive workdays, we found that reactive helping is positively related to work interruption, which in turn lead to daily negative affect. Additionally, reactive helping is positively related to a sense of relatedness, which then leads to daily positive affect. Interestingly, more work interruptions were triggered by reactive helping in a low-level competitive psychological climate compared to a high-level competitive climate. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications for practicing reactive helping.
