Informal Helping Relations in Organizations: A Cross-Cultural Comparison

This study explores the nature of informal helping processes in Israeli organizations. Results are compatible with earlier findings on informal helping relations in North American organizations, although certain differences between the two studies are noted. Informal help as described by Israeli and North American respondents is closely tied to formal organizational structures and processes. Israeli managers perceived the helping interactions in their organizations to be more active and directive than did the American managers in the American organizations. Implications of and possible dysfunctions caused by training programs designed to improve informal helping are discussed, and considerations for defining informal help are suggested.