Perceived prosocial impact,perceived situational constraints,and proactive work behavior: Looking at two distinct affective pathways

This paper examines the role of affect as a linking mechanism between experiences at work (perceived prosocial impact and situational constraints) and two distinct components of proactive work behavior (issue identification and implementation). Based on a dual‐tuning perspective, we argue that both positive affect and negative affect can be beneficial for proactive work behavior. Multi‐level path analysis using daily‐survey data from 153 employees showed that perceived prosocial impact predicted positive affect and that situational constraints as a typical hindrance stressor predicted negative affect. Negative affect, in turn, predicted issue identification, and positive affect predicted implementation. Overall, our study suggests that both positive and negative affects can be valuable in the organizational context by contributing to distinct components of proactive behavior. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Proactive career behaviors and subjective career success: The moderating role of national culture

Although career proactivity has positive consequences for an individual's career success, studies mostly examine objective measures of success within single countries. This raises important questions about whether proactivity is equally beneficial for different aspects of subjective career success, and the extent to which these benefits extend across cultures. Drawing on Social Information Processing theory, we examined the relationship between proactive career behaviors and two aspects of subjective career success—financial success and work‐life balance—and the moderating role of national culture. We tested our hypotheses using multilevel analyses on a large‐scale sample of 11,892 employees from 22 countries covering nine of GLOBE's 10 cultural clusters. Although we found that proactive career behaviors were positively related to subjective financial success, this relationship was not significant for work‐life balance. Furthermore, career proactivity was relatively more important for subjective financial success in cultures with high in‐group collectivism, high power distance, and low uncertainty avoidance. For work‐life balance, career proactivity was relatively more important in cultures characterized by high in‐group collectivism and humane orientation. Our findings underline the need to treat subjective career success as a multidimensional construct and highlight the complex role of national culture in shaping the outcomes of career proactivity.     

Routinization,work characteristics and their relationships with creative and proactive behaviors

Researchers have claimed that routinization hinders creativity. However, empirical evidence for this assumption is sparse. In this study, we argue that routinization may be beneficial for creativity and related behavior due to available resources that can be used to develop new ideas while working. We examine the relationship between routinization and four work characteristics (job control, job complexity, time pressure, and supervisor support) on the one hand and a range of creative and proactive behaviors on the other hand in a randomly selected sample of 278 employees of a German high‐tech company. Regression analyses reveal that in addition to work characteristics, routinization is generally positively related to creative and proactive behaviors. Ways to enhance routinization and thereby creative and proactive behaviors are discussed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Emotional competence and work performance: The mediating effect of proactivity and the moderating effect of job autonomy

This paper proposes and tests a model where emotional competence influences work performance through employees' proactive behaviors toward their supervisors. Results from 196 supervisor‐employee pairs supported that emotional competence was positively associated with proactive behaviors, and proactive behaviors were positively associated with both task effectiveness and social integration. In addition, proactive behaviors significantly mediated the relationships between emotional competence and work performance, although this was mostly true of followers who had a higher degree of autonomy in their work. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Innovative work behavior and sex‐based stereotypes: Examining sex differences in perceptions and evaluations of innovative work behavior

Building on role congruity theory, we predict that innovative work behaviors are stereotypically ascribed to men more than to women. Because of this bias, women who innovate may not receive better performance evaluations than those who do not innovate, whereas engaging in innovative work behaviors is beneficial for men. These predictions were supported across 3 complementary field and experimental studies. The results of an experiment (Study 1; N = 407) revealed that innovative work behaviors are stereotypically associated with men more than women. In Studies 2 and 3, using multisource employee evaluation data (N = 153) and by experimentally manipulating innovative work behaviors (N = 232), respectively, we found that favorable performance evaluations were associated with innovative work behaviors for men but not for women. These studies highlight a previously unidentified form of sex bias and are particularly important for those wishing to increase innovative behaviors in the workplace: We need to address this phenomenon of “think innovation‐think male.”     

Does daily proactivity affect well‐being? The moderating role of punitive supervision

Proactive behavior (self‐initiated and future‐oriented actions to bring about change) has largely positive consequences for organizationally oriented outcomes such as job performance. Yet the outcomes of proactivity from a well‐being perspective have not been clearly considered. Drawing on self‐determination theory and the stressor‐detachment model, we propose two distinct paths by which proactivity affects individuals' daily well‐being. The first path is an energy‐generating pathway in which daily proactive behavior enhances end‐of‐work‐day vitality via perceived competence. The second is a strain pathway in which daily proactive behavior generates anxiety at work, which undermines the process of detachment from work. We argue that these pathways are shaped by the extent to which supervisors are prone to blaming employees for their mistakes (punitive supervision). We tested this model using a sample of 94 employees who completed surveys three times a day for between 5 and 7 days. Our multilevel analyses provide support for the proposed dual‐pathway model and suggest differential well‐being outcomes of daily proactive work behavior. Overall, when an individual behaves proactively at work, they are more likely to experience higher levels of daily perceived competence and vitality. However, these positive effects can exist in parallel with daily negative effects on end‐of‐workday anxiety, and hence bedtime detachment, but only when the supervisor is perceived to be punitive about mistakes.     

Rested,friendly, and engaged: The role of daily positive collegial interactions at work

This diary study examined within‐person effects of positive work and off‐work experiences on daily work engagement. Assessing the gain cycle assumption of conservation of resources theory, we investigated the relationship of nighttime recovery experiences and subsequent resources including elevated sleep quality and morning positive affect; the relationship of morning positive affect with positive collegial interactions and subsequent work engagement; and the relationship of work engagement with nighttime recovery experiences. Sixty‐nine employees completed 3 daily questionnaires over 5 consecutive working days. Multilevel analyses revealed that sleep quality positively predicted morning positive affect, which in turn predicted work engagement directly and also indirectly through having positive interactions with colleagues. Work engagement positively predicted nighttime recovery experiences, whereas nighttime recovery experiences were not related to sleep quality or morning positive affect the next day. Overall, on days after a good night's sleep, individuals feel more positive, bring this positivity to their workplace, reach out to their workplace colleagues, and are in turn more likely to be engaged in their work. Additionally, on days when individuals experience higher levels of positive collegial interactions at work and in turn higher work engagement, they are likely to enjoy better recovery experiences.     

Thriving at work: Impact of psychological capital and supervisor support

Thriving at work is a positive psychological state characterized jointly by learning and vitality. Conventional wisdom and some initial research indicate that such thriving benefits both employees themselves and their organizations. This study specifically tests thriving at work by linking it to a theoretically important personal outcome variable (self‐development), refining its relationship with agentic work behaviors (task focus and heedful relating), and proposing and testing two new antecedent variables (psychological capital and supervisor support climate). Using structural equation modeling on a sample of 198 dyads (employees and their supervisors), strong support was found for the theory‐driven hypothesized relationships. The results contribute to a better understanding of positive organizational scholarship and behavior in general and specifically to the recently emerging positive construct of employees' thriving at work. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Contextualizing leaders' interpretations of proactive followership

Although proactive followership behavior is often viewed as instrumental to group success, leaders do not always respond favorably to the actions of overly eager followers. Guided by a constructivist perspective, we investigated how interpretations of followership differ across the settings in which acts of leadership and followership emerge. In thematically analyzing data from semi‐structured interviews with leaders of high‐performing teams, we depict how the construal of follower behaviors relates to various contextual factors underscoring leader–follower interactions. Prototypical characteristics were described in relation to ideal followership (i.e., active independent thought, ability to process self‐related information accurately, collective orientation, and relational transparency). However, proactive followership behaviors were subject to the situational and relational demands that were salient during leader–follower interactions. Notably, the presence of third‐party observers, the demands of the task, stage in the decision‐making process, suitability of the targeted issue, and relational dynamics influenced which follower behaviors were viewed as appropriate from the leader's perspective. These findings provide insight into when leaders are more likely to endorse proactive followership, suggesting that proactive followership requires an awareness of how to calibrate one's actions in accordance with prevailing circumstances. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Are two cynics better than one? Toward understanding effects of leader–follower (in‐)congruence in social cynicism

Prior research suggests that leaders' social cynicism can undermine important follower outcomes such as followers' motivation and performance. However, these studies have exclusively focused on leaders' social cynicism and neglected that followers' views on the social world might also influence the leadership process. On the basis of theories of social beliefs and person–supervisor fit, we offer an integrative perspective and predict that it is the congruence between leaders' and followers' social cynicism that shapes leadership dynamics. Data from 116 leader–follower dyads from a broad range of organizations and industries support our model: Polynomial regression and response surface analyses show significant congruence effects of leaders' and followers' social cynicism on followers' extra‐role behaviors and followers' proactive work behaviors. These positive effects of congruence on follower outcomes are transmitted by leader–member exchange quality. Finally, congruence effects are stronger when leaders' and followers' social cynicism is low rather than high. Overall, our study suggests that it is the correspondence between leaders' and followers' social cynicism that influences followers' leader–member exchange, extra‐role, and proactive behavior. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings for designing functional leader–follower dyads in organizations.     

Proactive and reactive helping: Contrasting the positive consequences of different forms of helping

Research on helping has identified positive consequences of helping for the helper, beneficiary, group, and organization. Recent research, however, raises concerns about contingencies that influence the outcomes of helping and suggests the need for a more nuanced perspective on the positive outcomes of helping. In this paper, we develop a novel theoretical perspective to address these contingencies by differentiating between proactive helping and reactive helping. Drawing from the two main theoretical frameworks, which have been used as the basis for studying helping—social exchange theory and functional motives theory—we discuss differences in the positive consequences of reactive and proactive helping for helpers, dyads, groups, and organizations. We submit that reactive helping facilitates heedful relationships, such that it creates and perpetuates social exchange norms that benefit others in the group. Conversely, we posit that proactive helping is often based on fulfilling personal needs, such that it benefits the self in terms of reputational benefits, well‐being, favorable self‐evaluations, need satisfaction, and self‐development. We discuss theoretical implications of this framework for future research on the positive consequences of helping. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The power of reflection for would-be leaders: Investigating individual work reflection and its impact on leadership in teams

This paper examines the key role that individual work reflection plays in facilitating individuals' leadership in teams. Consistent with the functional perspective on leadership, we argue that individual work reflection allows individuals to better understand their team's needs, and therefore enact higher levels of task-, relational-, and change-oriented leadership behaviors and be more effective leaders in their teams. We first conducted a series of measure development studies to validate a measure of individual work reflection comprising four dimensions of reflection at work: goals-, methods-, relationships-, and self-focused reflection. Then, across two independent studies assessing individuals in self-managing teams over time, we found support for our theoretical model linking individual work reflection to peer-rated leadership behaviors (Main Studies 1 and 2) and leadership effectiveness (Main Study 2). In further support of our theorizing, Main Study 2 also indicates that individual work reflection shapes leadership behaviors and effectiveness via understanding the team's needs, beyond a wide range of related constructs (e.g., feedback seeking, mindfulness, and rumination), as well as commonly studied predictors of leadership behaviors (i.e., the Big Five). Our theory and empirical findings help advance insights on the role of individual work reflection in improving leadership outcomes in organizations.     

The impact of preventive coping on business travelers' work and private life

Frequent business travel can be a burden for travelers' work and private life. We tested whether preventive coping (the proactive accumulation of resources in advance of potential stressors) makes such trips beneficial despite their potential to be stressful. In a longitudinal three‐wave study, we investigated whether frequent travel relates to an increase or decrease in work–life balance, emotional exhaustion, work engagement, and relationship satisfaction depending on preventive coping. Findings from a sample of 133 frequent business travelers revealed significant indirect effects for emotional exhaustion, work engagement, and relationship satisfaction through work–life balance. Among employees who engaged less in preventive coping, a higher number of business trips was related to a decrease in work–life balance, which, in turn, was related to more emotional exhaustion, less work engagement, and lower relationship satisfaction. Among those who reported higher preventive coping, we found opposing indirect effects: Frequent travel was related to an increase in work–life balance and, in turn, to less emotional exhaustion, more work engagement, and higher relationship satisfaction. These findings advance our knowledge in the field of business travel, future‐oriented coping, and work–life balance. They highlight that travelers and their organizations should resort to preventive coping to make frequent travel more beneficial.     

Supervisor monitoring and subordinate innovation

This study introduces a new and parsimonious classification of supervisor monitoring (observational monitoring and interactional monitoring) and examines the effects of these two monitoring styles on subordinate innovation. Guided by social exchange theory, we propose that the two monitoring styles influence subordinate job attitudes (trust and distrust in their supervisor), relationship quality (leader–member exchange), and work behaviors (feedback‐seeking behaviors), which, in turn, affect their innovation. The pilot study developed the scales for the two monitoring styles and tested their content validity among 189 undergraduate students. Using a sample of 385 subordinates, Study 1 assessed the construct validity of the two monitoring styles. In Study 2, the results of a survey of 388 supervisor–subordinate dyads show support for the proposed theoretical model. Specifically, observational monitoring and interactional monitoring were related to subordinates' trust and distrust in their supervisor. Trust and distrust in the supervisor, in turn, were related to the quality of the leader–member exchange, feedback‐seeking behaviors, and ultimately, supervisor‐rated innovation. These findings suggest that supervisors' monitoring styles have both positive and negative effects on their subordinates' innovation, which depends on the type of monitoring supervisors engage in. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Promoting felt responsibility for constructive change and proactive behavior: exploring aspects of an elaborated model of work design

Although new theoretical models that are suggestive of how work design might be used to foster proactive motivation and proactive performance have been proposed, these models need further elaboration and testing if they are to be useful tools for contemporary organizations. Accordingly, we examine the extent to which feelings of responsibility for constructive change is a proactive psychological mechanism that explains how work design characteristics influence constructive change‐oriented behavior and proactive performance. Specifically, we examine job autonomy, position in the organizational hierarchy, access to resources, access to strategy‐related information, and role ambiguity as antecedents to felt responsibility for constructive change (FRCC). We also examine the extent to which feelings of responsibility for constructive change are positively related to voice behavior (i.e., constructive, change‐oriented communication) and continuous improvement (i.e., proactive role performance). Results indicate hierarchical position and access to resources are positively related to FRCC. Results also indicate proactive personality moderates the relationship between access to resources and FRCC and the relationship between access to strategy‐related information and FRCC. Plots of the interactions reveal that these relationships are enhanced for individuals with proactive personalities. The results also indicate that FRCC is positively related to voice behavior and continuous improvement. Perhaps more importantly, the results suggest that FRCC explains the psychological process by which structural and socio‐structural forces influence proactive behavior. The results are discussed as they pertain to updated work design theory and theories of high involvement work systems, job characteristics, and leadership prototypes. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The journey to leave: Understanding the roles of perceived ease of movement,proactive personality,and person–organization fit in overqualified employees' job searching process

Despite intensive research on perceived overqualification, empirical evidence on overqualified employees' job search behavior remains relatively insufficient. Notably, no studies have explored the possible link between perceived overqualification and internal job searching behaviors. In the present study, we consider whether—and more importantly when—employees with high perception of overqualification search for internal and external job opportunities. Applying the ability–motivation–opportunity (AMO) framework, we propose and test a model that specifies how motivation and opportunity to move or stay activate differential effects in overqualifiers' job searching process. Results from two studies surveying employees in Taiwan (Study 1: N = 268; Study 2: N = 210) show that overqualifiers displayed greater intentions to leave the current job and, in turn, engaged in more external job search behaviors; this relation was strongest for those whose perceived ease of movement and proactive personality increased or person–organization (PO) fit decreased. Furthermore, overqualifiers displayed greater intentions to leave the current job and also increased their internal job search behaviors; this relation was strongest for those whose perceived ease of movement and PO fit increased. A series of supplemental analyses also lends support to our theorizing.     

How negative social interactions at work seep into the home: A prosocial and an antisocial pathway

We combined Bakker and Demerouti's spillover–crossover model with Taylor's biobehavioral perspective, tested the comprehensive model, and pursued a set of gender‐related research questions. Negative work interactions were expected to entail two strain responses, high‐ and low‐arousal negative affect. Both should be related to cortisol secretion but transmitted via different social pathways, a positive and a negative one. During a 7‐day ambulatory assessment with 56 couples, we assessed daily variations in the severity of negative social interactions at work and at home along with participants' affect and cortisol levels. Using multilevel structural equation modeling, we found evidence for the three hypothesized processes: strain at work as a consequence of social stress, spillover of strain into the home, and crossover to the partner. On socially more stressful days, participants showed increased high‐ and low‐arousal negative affect at work. Low‐arousal negative affect spilled over into the home. Only for men, high‐arousal negative affect spilled over, and only women showed a tendency for slowed decline of cortisol levels on more socially stressful days (i.e., slower recovery). Surprisingly, high‐arousal negative affect at work tended to be negatively related to partners' high‐arousal negative affect. Commonalities predominated differences between men and women. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Thriving at work—A diary study

The present diary study examines how employees thrive at work in response to resources (i.e., positive meaning, relational resources, and knowledge). Thriving is conceptualized as the joint experience of vitality and learning. A total of 121 employees working in the social services sector responded to three daily surveys (in the morning, at lunchtime, and at the end of the work day) for a period of five work days. Intra‐individual analyses (hierarchical linear modeling) revealed that on days when employees experience positive meaning at work in the morning, they feel more vital at the end of the work day and have a higher sense of learning. Work behaviors such as task focus and exploration mediated the relation between positive meaning and both components of thriving. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dynamic effects of personal initiative on engagement and exhaustion: The role of mood,autonomy, and support

Researchers have neglected dynamic effects of proactive behavior on occupational well‐being. We investigated effects of change in personal initiative over 6 months on changes in emotional engagement and exhaustion over the following 6 months. On the basis of the control‐process theory on affect, we hypothesized that changes in positive and negative moods mediate these effects conditional upon employees' level of perceived organizational support. On the basis of action regulation theory, we assumed that change in job autonomy also acts as a mediator. Data came from 297 employees who responded to 3 surveys separated by 6‐month intervals. Results of latent change score modeling showed that change in personal initiative negatively predicted change in positive mood and, when perceived organizational support was low, positively predicted change in negative mood. In addition, change in personal initiative positively predicted change in job autonomy. Change in personal initiative had negative indirect effects on change in emotional engagement, and positive indirect effects on change in emotional exhaustion through changes in positive and negative moods (but not through change in job autonomy). A reverse causal model did not yield significant indirect effects. Overall, these findings suggest that an increase in proactive behavior can have detrimental effects on occupational well‐being.     

Exploring the dark side of organizational citizenship behavior

In recent years, there has been increasing interest in positive organizational scholarship in general, including positive organizational behavior (POB) in particular. This work identifies organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) as a prototypical POB. Conceptualizing OCBs in this way is sensible in light of more than 30 years of research highlighting the desirable aspects of such behavior. At the same time, some researchers have raised questions about positive organizational scholarship and have called for a more balanced view of ostensibly positive behaviors. The purpose of this paper, then, is to take a more nuanced view of OCBs while highlighting the dark side of citizenship behavior. In doing so, we review conceptual and empirical work that has challenged the idea that OCBs are inherently positive. We also discuss research that seeks to develop a deeper understanding of the conditions under which OCB does more harm than good. Finally, important areas for future research and the practical realities facing scholars who seek to publish research investigating the dark side of citizenship are addressed as well. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.