The processes underlying professional vitality in the workplace based on organizational variables such as perceived organizational support and career satisfaction, have received little attention from researchers. We proposed professional vitality as a positive dimension in career development and empirically examined its determinants and outcomes. Within our conceptual framework, light was shed on the effect of professional vitality as a critical component in career satisfaction. We collected data from 218 students enrolled part-time in the Master of Business Administration course at a large public university in China. The results showed that perceived organizational support and trust were closely connected to the students' professional vitality and career satisfaction. Moreover, we found that professional vitality played a partial mediating role between perceived organizational support, trust, and career satisfaction. The theoretical and practical implications for future research are discussed.
PurposeWorking arrangements' hybridity has become paramount, particularly after the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. A remote working environment has indubitable advantages (e.g. the ability to work from anywhere and at any time). However, such flexibility comes at the cost of being virtually always connected. This duality poses challenges for talent management (TM) in determining who can thrive under these specific conditions and how. This study explores how employees respond to this extended connectivity – namely, work connectivity behaviour after-hours (WCBA) – and its influence on proactive talent behaviour by constructing and testing a theoretical model that differentiates employees' reactions to this condition.Design/methodology/approachThis study collected data from 400 mainland Chinese employees using online and offline methods. Owing to the potentially varied effects of working in digital environments on employees, a dual mediation regression model was employed to test the hypotheses.FindingsRemote and hybrid work and, specifically, the increased connectivity experienced by employees can be a "double-edged sword" in influencing their proactive behaviour (PB). While employees experience increased organisation-based self-esteem, which positively correlates with more intense PB, this prolonged exposure may also cause emotional exhaustion (EE), which has a negative correlation with PB. Jointly considering both mediation effects revealed that WCBA's total effect on PB remained negative.Originality/valueThis study enriches the debate regarding the development of TM practices specifically designed for remote work. It recommends paying greater attention to how employees react to increased connectivity experienced in remote and hybrid working environments. Increased self-esteem or passive EE are possible elements for identifying employees' talent potential. The separation between work and after-work is becoming blurred in the digital age, which reduces employees' motivation and ability to exploit their inner talents. Therefore, organisations must find alternatives to preserve their talent pools. This study enriches theoretical research on WCBA, promoting an in-depth application of the theory of job-demand resources in the digital age.
