Contextual Performance

In recent years, contextual performance has emerged as an important aspect of overall job performance. Job performance is no longer considered to consist strictly of performance on a task. Rather, with an increasingly competitive job market, employees are expected to go above and beyond the requirements listed in their job descriptions. Contextual performance, which is defined as activities that contribute to the social and psychological core of the organization, is beginning to be viewed as equally important to task performance. Examples of contextual performance include volunteering for additional work, following organizational rules and procedures even when personally inconvenient, assisting and cooperating with coworkers, and various other discretionary behaviors. By strengthening the viability of social networks, these activities are posited to enhance the psychological climate in which the technical core is nested.