Are wellbeing dimensions differentially related to employee proactive behavior? The joint moderating effects of knowledge job demands and empowering leadership

The aim of this article was to investigate the conditions under which the dimensions of work-related wellbeing (i.e., serenity, social harmony, and involvement) can be beneficial for employee proactive behavior (PB). Based on theories of activation and theorization about the influence of wellbeing on performance, we proposed that the contribution of the wellbeing dimensions to PB depends on the type of challenge (i.e., knowledge job demands; KJDs) and level of stimulation (i.e., empowering leadership) that employees experience in their jobs. Data were collected from Canadian employees (N = 602) through a two-wave study. As predicted, findings indicated that KJDs and empowering leadership jointly interacted with serenity and involvement to predict PB. High levels of empowering leadership were found to strengthen the effect of the interactions between serenity and KJDs and between involvement and KJDs, and to intensify the positive relationship between involvement and PB among employees with high KJDs. We discuss the implications of these findings for theory and management of wellbeing and PB in workplaces.