Job stressors and employee proactivity: The bright and dark sides of psychological empowerment

Abstract

Recently, organizational scholars have stressed the importance of employee proactivity in today’s dynamic and uncertain work environment. As such, research has investigated employee proactivity in two similar, but disconnected ways. Whereas some research studies focus on the psychological conditions that give rise to employee proactivity, other research investigates the behavioral manifestations of proactivity. This study integrates the psychological and behavioral approaches to proactivity with a sample of 423 non-profit employees. Results indicated that challenge stressors promoted psychological empowerment, whereas hindrance stressors diminished perceptions of empowerment. Findings also revealed a positive association between psychological empowerment and proactive work behaviors, as well as interpersonal counterproductive work behaviors. Finally, the results suggest that psychological empowerment mediated the relationships between both hindrance and challenge stressors and proactive work behaviors, but not counterproductive work behaviors. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.