Exploring reciprocal within‐person relations between proactive employee green behavior and subjective well‐being: A four‐wave longitudinal study

A promising approach for organizations to advance environmental sustainability and ensure the long‐term well‐being of humanity is to encourage employees to proactively address environmental issues. However, the understanding of how proactive employee green behavior (EGB) is associated with the well‐being of employees engaging in such behavior is currently limited. This is problematic, as the potential co‐benefits of proactive EGB and well‐being may motivate employees to engage in proactive EGB and encourage organizations to promote environmental and well‐being goals simultaneously. Based on data from n = 1354 employees in Germany collected across four measurement points separated by 3‐month time lags, we examine how proactive EGB and work‐related subjective well‐being (i.e., job satisfaction and positive and negative affect) are related to one another over time. Results of random intercept cross‐lagged panel models did not provide support for effects of proactive EGB on subsequent well‐being. However, higher positive affect predicted a subsequent increase in proactive EGB. Additionally, we found that the positive within‐person association between job satisfaction and subsequent proactive EGB was stronger among employees who perceived stronger organizational pro‐environmental norms. These findings highlight the importance of promoting subjective well‐being and organizational pro‐environmental norms to support employee initiative that addresses environmental issues.