Helpness system as a marker of employes in a labour collective ¹²⁹²

From the psychological point, we consider the phenomenon of mutual aid in the workplace. We reveal its importance as a marker that helps employees to categorize relations on the principle of “friend-or-foe”, “us– them” The analogy is drawn with Ericksonian understanding of the construct of trust and its role in labor relations. A comparative analysis of the principles of social exchange and approaches to social sharing of the lead researchers in social psychology and psychology of influence is performed. Particular attention is paid to the study subjects and its relations to culture characteristics, social capital, and organizational culture. We discovered an interesting phenomenon of microculture that exists within the “big” corporate culture. Relevance of the work is determined by the economic situation in our country in 2010-2013.

Keywords: organizational psychology, psychology of influence, mutual aid, mutual exchange, labor collective.

Column: Psychology of Professional Activity