182 Chapter 7 process and instigating JD-R’s motivational process for chronically ill employees. While the role of personality in the context of JD-R theory has not been researched extensively before, some other studies have suggested that certain personal characteristics, such as neuroticism and extraversion (Bakker et al., 2010) and proactive personality (Li & Mao, 2014) may play a role in the JD-R processes. However, in contrast to many personality traits, an advantageous feature characterizing self-insight – referring to an understanding about the self, i.e., one’s needs, goals, attributes – is that it can be developed and trained (Carver & Scheier, 1998; Grant et al., 2002; Klimoski & Hu, 2011). Context and Proactive Vitality Management In addition to personal characteristics that may be involved in (the effectiveness of) proactive behavior, the model of proactive motivation emphasizes the role that contextual factors may play in the proactive process. Although studies that consider how the context shapes proactive behaviors aimed at achieving a better fit between the individual and the organization are somewhat scarce, they suggest that the social context may be influential (Parker et al., 2010). Corresponding to this notion, the findings from a study described in Chapter 3 showed that social support strengthened the relationship between proactive vitalitymanagement and creative work performance on a weekly basis. Furthermore, even though Parker et al. (2010) suggested that job design may play an especially large role for other type of proactive work and strategic behaviors, I included job autonomy as a control variable in several studies presented in this dissertation. Indeed, while low levels of autonomy may not necessarily impede proactive vitality management efforts, it may be more challenging to employ effective strategies according to situational needs and personal preferences when there is little freedom to decide how, when, and where one executes their work. Tisu et al. (2021) corroborated this idea by showing that job autonomy preceded proactive vitality management, which was followed by work engagement and performance. The way a job is designed may thus impact the likelihood and effectiveness of proactive vitality management. The findings correspond with Daniel’s (2006) notion of ‘enacted’ job characteristics, which entails that employees must enact job characteristics, such as autonomy, in order for such stable job characteristics to have an impact on work and organizational outcomes. Proactive vitality management may allow employees to capitalize on available job resources – i.e., make better use of them – and translate
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