Performance pressure is not uncommon in the field of human resource management, and it stands as a constant companion to those aspiring to advance their careers. Drawing on the appraisal theories of emotion and literature on fear and career prospects, this research explores how and when performance pressure fosters work-goal progress. Across two time-lagged, multi-industry field studies with full-time employees, we demonstrate that performance pressure intensifies mental preoccupation with work by triggering fear of performance failure, which in turn promotes work-goal progress. Furthermore, these positive serial mediation effects (performance pressure → fear of performance failure → mental preoccupation with work → work-goal progress) are moderated by employees' career prospects within organizations, being more pronounced among those with higher career prospects. Theoretically, this work deepens the understanding of the positive impacts of performance pressure and broadens its influencing mechanisms and contextual moderators. Practically, the findings can inform organizations in leveraging performance pressure to serve the best interests of both individuals and the organization. Limitations and future directions are also discussed.

中文翻译：

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欲戴王冠，必承其重：绩效压力如何让组织中的未来员工受益


绩效压力在人力资源管理领域并不罕见，对于那些渴望提升职业生涯的人来说，绩效压力始终伴随着他们。本研究借鉴情绪评估理论以及有关恐惧和职业前景的文献，探讨绩效压力如何以及何时促进工作目标进步。通过对全职员工进行的两项滞后的、多行业的实地研究，我们证明，绩效压力会引发对绩效失败的恐惧，从而加剧对工作的精神专注，从而促进工作目标的进展。此外，这些积极的系列中介效应（绩效压力→对绩效失败的恐惧→对工作的精神关注→工作目标进展）受到组织内员工职业前景的调节，在那些职业前景较高的人中更为明显。从理论上讲，这项工作加深了对绩效压力积极影响的理解，并拓宽了其影响机制和背景调节因素。实际上，研究结果可以帮助组织利用绩效压力来服务于个人和组织的最大利益。还讨论了局限性和未来的方向。