17 General Introduction dissertation, I focus on several potential work-related outcomes of proactive vitality management, namely job performance (Chapter 2), functional capacity (Chapter 6), and absenteeism (Chawpter 6). Moreover, special attention is given to creative performance as a potential outcome of proactive vitality management. The focus on creativity corresponds to the idea that human beings are not robots. While people need physical and mental energy to perform, a unique human quality that cannot simply be automated is to be able to think creatively. Therefore, I examine whether people who use proactive vitality management may perform more creatively (Chapters 2-6). In addition, I examine the underlying mechanisms of the link between proactive vitality management and work-related outcomes. Proactive vitality management involves changing aspects of the self to achieve a different future (cf. Parker et al., 2010) – more specifically, altering one’s physical, affective, and cognitive state to promote optimal functioning (see Figure 1). So, while the ‘different future’ may be represented by workrelated outcomes, the ‘changed self’ may be manifested in process variables that reflect the physical, affective, and cognitive components of vitality (Lavrusheva, 2020; Ryan & Frederick, 1997). Accordingly, these process variables may theoretically answer the question how proactive vitality management relates to work-related outcomes. Throughout the chapters in this dissertation, I focus on several potential process variables, such as exhaustion (i.e., physical; Chapter 2 and 6), cognitive liveliness and mindfulness (i.e., cognitive; Chapter 2 and 5, respectively), and work engagement (i.e., affective; Chapter 2, 4, and 6). Summing up, with the studies presented throughout the chapters in this dissertation, I aim to illustrate how individuals who use proactive vitality management may experience improved physical and mental well-being, and, in turn, may perform better and more creatively at work. The consequential processes of proactive vitality management are displayed in Figure 2.
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