PULLMAN, Wash. – The way people express emotions while helping others can influence whether their assistance is welcomed, resented, or reciprocated, according to new research from Washington State University's Carson College of Business.
The study, led by Stephen Lee , assistant professor of management, found that helpers who express emotions like gratitude and sympathy are more likely to be seen as having genuine motives and are more likely to foster trust and future collaboration. Conversely, when helpers display pride or contempt, their motives are often questioned, weakening relationships and reducing the likelihood of reciprocation.
"In the workplace, we often encourage helping behaviors, but not all help is perceived the same way," Lee said. "It's not just whether you help, but how you help—and the emotions you express—that shape how people respond."
The research paper, " Emotional Signaling: How Helpers' Emotional Expressions Affect Attributions of Motives, Relationship Quality, and Reciprocation ," is coauthored with Michael D. Johnson at the University of Washington and published in the Academy of Management Journal.
While past research often treated helping behavior as universally positive, the new findings suggest that recipients actively interpret emotional cues when deciding whether to trust and reciprocate help.
"Recipients are not passive; they pick up on emotional signals and use them to infer why someone is helping," Lee said. "If they sense the helper is motivated by self-interest or obligation, it changes the way they perceive the help and whether they feel inclined to return the favor."
The findings were based on three studies and a preliminary pilot study involving working adults and student participants. Participants were asked to either recall real-world helping experiences, take part in an interactive task in a behavioral lab, or respond to a vignette simulating interactions with a coworker.
Across all the studies, socially engaging emotions consistently led to perceptions of prosocial motives, stronger relationships, and greater willingness to reciprocate.
For leaders and managers, the study highlights the role of emotional expressions in shaping a culture of collaboration. Rather than encouraging helping behavior for its own sake, Lee recommends fostering a workplace environment where employees feel genuine gratitude for their colleagues and develop a natural sense of sympathy for others' challenges.
"Helping that stems from gratitude or concern for others is more likely to create positive, lasting relationships," Lee said. "If leaders can model those kinds of emotions in how they help their teams, it sets the tone for a more supportive and engaged workplace."
At the individual level, employees can also benefit by reflecting on their own experiences of receiving help or by practicing perspective-taking—approaches that naturally foster more authentic emotions and social connections.
"When we express genuine gratitude or sympathy, we're not just benefiting ourselves," Lee said. "We're strengthening our workplace relationships and building a more resilient culture of collaboration."
