Is involution effective? Research on the influence mechanism of perceived overwork climate on employees' creative performance

Introduction: Amid intensifying market competition, overwork climate has become pervasive in organizations, yet its impact on employees' creative performance remains theoretically controversial. To address this gap, this study integrates Cognitive Appraisal Theory and Regulatory Focus Theory to construct a moderated mediation model, exploring how overwork climate influences employees' creative performance through work-specific regulatory focus (promotion focus vs. prevention focus) and the moderating role of trait mindfulness. Design/methodology/approach: A two-wave questionnaire survey was conducted with 597 R&D employees from Chinese technology firms, and data were analyzed using hierarchical regression and bootstrap methods. Findings: Overwork climate has a differential impact on employees' creative performance through work-specific regulatory focus, employees' trait mindfulness moderates this process. Specifically, high trait mindfulness strengthens the positive mediating role of promotion focus, whereas low trait mindfulness amplifies the negative mediating role of prevention focus. Discussion: This research elucidates the intricate mechanism and boundary conditions of the influence of the overwork climate on employees' creative performance. It resolves the conflicting findings regarding the relationship between the overwork climate and creative performance to a certain degree, uncovers the dual effects of such a climate, enriches the research in this field within an Eastern context, and facilitates the integration of the Cognitive Appraisal Theory and Regulatory Focus Theory.