A study of willingness to mentor: demographic differences, determinants and the moderating effect of organizational usefulness

Mentoring has been defined as “a relationship between a young adult and an older, more experienced adult that helps the younger individual learn to navigate in the adult world and in the world of work” (Kram, 1985, 2). Mentoring is a developmental relationship that can be beneficial to the mentor and the organization as a whole, as well as to the protégé (Eby, Durley, Evans & Ragins, 2006). The benefits are chiefly subjective (Allen, Eby, Poteet, Lentz & Lima, 2004), and affect attitudes, interpersonal relations, and motivation/involvement and, to a lesser extent, health-related outcomes (Eby, Allen, Evans, Ng, & Dubois, 2008). Mentoring thus seems capable of promoting organizational well-being, a goal that can be more effectively reached if mentoring is informal (Chao, Walz & Gardner, 1992).