How Workplace Friendship Promotes Employee Proactive Behavior: The Mediating Role of Positive Effects

Based on the Cognitive-Emotional System Theory, this study explores the relationships among workplace friendship, positive effects, learning goal orientation, and employee proactive work behavior, while examining the moderating role of learning goal orientation in these relationships. Through a cross-sectional design and employing SPSS analysis software for data analysis, the research findings reveal that workplace friendship positively influences employee proactive work behavior, with positive effects serving as an intermediary mechanism. Further moderation analysis uncovers the moderating effect of learning goal orientation on the relationship between positive effects and employee proactive work behavior, indicating that a stronger learning goal orientation enhances the significance of the relationship between positive effects and employee proactive work behavior. This study provides a new theoretical perspective for a deeper understanding of the intricate connections among workplace friendship, positive effects, learning goal orientation, and employee proactive work behavior. The results not only enrich the theoretical framework concerning workplace friendship and employee behavior but also offer targeted practical recommendations for organizational managers.