Professor Sharon Parker joined other international speakers in China this week to give a keynote presentation on how leaders can enhance the proactivity of their workforce. She presented at the 3rd Annual Organizational Behaviour / Human Resources Symposium hosted by the China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), Shanghai. Photo: Welcome Address from Weijiong Zhang, Vice President and Co-Dean, CEIBS Sharon described how leaders can foster employees' proactive motivat

Last week Sharon attended an EAWOP Small Group Workshop on cross-cultural aspects of proactivity in Cergy, near Paris. Around 30 scholars came together from all over the world to discuss potential differences in proactive work behavior across different national cultures. The workshop was organised by Tina Urbach, Deanne den Hartog, Karoline Strauss, Doris Faye, and Sharon Parker (see photo). After an insightful talk on the pitfalls of cross-cultural research from Professor P

This week we received the good news that our publication on potential personal costs of being proactive at work was accepted for publication in the Journal of Vocational Behavior. Most research shows that when people behave proactively at work, such as by initiating change or taking charge to prevent problems, the effects are positive. For example, research shows that being proactive builds larger social networks, which helps a person's career. And being proactive also boosts