23 Conceptualization and Measurement of Proactive Vitality Management INTRODUCTION Despite rapid technological advancement and corresponding changes in the nature of work and organizations, human capital remains key in determining organizational success. However, human beings are not robots: They need physical and mental energy to deal with complex tasks and deliver results. Various companies acknowledge the importance of vital employees for organizational success and have created so called ‘nap rooms’ or ‘quite zones’ where employees may meditate or take a short nap during working hours. Other examples of ‘top-down’ approaches to manage employee vitality may include physical and mental health programs (e.g., a gym at work or healthy lunch options). However, not all organizations are able or prepared to implement such policies or facilities. Additionally, organizations cannot take all individual and momentary differences in their employees’ needs and preferences into account. That is, people may have a better idea of when (e.g., on which workdays or for which tasks) and how they prefer to boost their own levels of physical and mental energy to promote their work. Moreover, due to technological developments (e.g., telework, virtual work) and changes in the nature of work (proactivity, flex work), employees need to take responsibility for their own work outcomes as well (cf. Grant & Ashford, 2008; Grant & Parker, 2009). In the present research, we build on proactivity and energy at work literatures to argue that individuals may proactively manage their levels of physical and mental energy to promote their own work. The purpose of the present research is threefold: 1) to introduce proactive vitality management as individual, goal-oriented behavior aimed at managing physical and mental energy to promote optimal functioning at work; 2) to discuss the development and validation of a short scale tomeasure the extent to which individuals proactively manage their vitality for work, on both a general and daily level; and 3) to explore the nomological network of proactive vitality management by examining its link with relevant constructs and work outcomes. By addressing these aims we contribute to the literatures on proactivity and energy (management) at work. More specifically, an effective and reliable instrument tomeasure proactive vitalitymanagement allows us to examine howworking individuals may take control over their own well-being and performance. This approach complements proactive perspectives aimed at the work environment, research on energy at work, and top-down approaches to manage employee vitality. 2
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