Linking proactivity to work–family enrichment: a moderated mediation model

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this research is to explore the effect of proactivity on work–family enrichment through thriving at work and the moderation of such mediation by immediate supervisor perspective-taking. Design/methodology/approach Research data consisting of two-wave lagged data ( N = 470) were collected from 470 employees of 17 domestic Chinese firms to examine the proposed moderated mediation model. Findings The findings show that proactivity was positively related to work–family enrichment and that thriving at work partially mediated this relationship. Immediate supervisor perspective-taking strengthens the effect of proactivity on thriving at work, and a positive indirect relationship exists between proactivity and work–family enrichment through thriving at work when immediate supervisor perspective-taking is high. Practical implications Organizations should formulate policies to motivate employees to engage in proactive behavior and stimulate employees' thriving at work. Organizations should also select leaders who are good at perspective-taking and provide training to leaders to help them take others' perspectives. Originality/value These results deepen our theoretical understanding of the consequences of proactivity by demonstrating the positive associations between proactive behavior and work–family enrichment. The current study also contributes to the literature by identifying the mediating mechanism of thriving at work to explain the relationship between proactivity and work–family enrichment. Furthermore, the results show that supervisor perspective-taking moderates the above mediation.