Leading Future Work Self to Progress: the Role of Proximal Goals and Self-reflection

Abstract

Goal pursuit literature suggests that to facilitate one's goal progress, a long-term goal should be divided into proximal goals; however, little is now about what long-term goal characteristics trigger proximal goal planning. Based on construal level theory, we hypothesized that a salient long-term goal such as salient future work self predicts proximal goal planning, resulting in perceived progress towards future work self. In addition, we proposed that improvement-oriented self-reflection moderates the indirect effect. Using a correlational field study (N = 208) and an experimental study (N = 110), we found that salient future work self combined with improvement-oriented self-reflection plays an influential role in boosting perceived progress through proximal goal planning. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of the findings.