How does overwork climate influence employee creativity? A proactive procrastination perspective

Purpose Based on cognitive appraisal theory and resources conservation theory, this study aims to develop a moderated mediation model of the effect of employees’ perceived overwork climate on their creativity. Design/methodology/approach This study collected 563 employees’ data from Chinese companies through a three-stage time-lagged survey design. Confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation models and the bootstrapping method were conducted to test the hypotheses via SPSS and Mplus. Findings Results suggest that perceived overwork climate generally decreases employee creativity while increases employee creativity through proactive procrastination. Furthermore, electronic monitoring buffers the mediating role of proactive procrastination. Originality/value This study provides a novel perspective regarding the influence of perceived overwork climate on employees’ creativity.