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Does Leader AI-Focused Attention Promote Employee Proactivity? A Work-Related Rumination Theory Perspective.
Lu Xiao1, Heng Zhao1, Jin Wan2
1School of Economics and Management, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China.
Behavioral Sciences (Basel, Switzerland)
|June 26, 2026
Summary
Leader attention to artificial intelligence (AI) influences employee behavior. Positive AI focus encourages problem-solving, boosting proactivity, while negative focus leads to rumination, hindering it.
Area of Science:
- Organizational Behavior
- Artificial Intelligence Integration
- Employee Psychology
Background:
- Increasing integration of AI in workplaces necessitates understanding employee adaptation.
- Leader AI-focused attention serves as a crucial signal for employees navigating AI technologies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the relationship between leader AI-focused attention and employee proactive behavior.
- To investigate the mediating roles of problem-solving pondering and affective rumination.
- To explore the moderating effect of AI job role clarity.
Main Methods:
- Utilized structural equation modeling (SEM).
- Collected multi-wave survey data from 514 employees.
- Tested an integrated mediation model.
Main Results:
- Leader AI-focused attention positively predicted both problem-solving pondering and affective rumination.
- Problem-solving pondering positively correlated with employee proactive behavior.
- Affective rumination negatively correlated with employee proactive behavior.
- AI job role clarity positively moderated the link between leader AI-focused attention and problem-solving pondering, strengthening it with higher clarity.
Conclusions:
- Leader AI-focused attention influences employee proactivity through distinct cognitive and affective pathways.
- Problem-solving rumination enhances proactive behavior, while affective rumination diminishes it.
- AI job role clarity is a critical boundary condition, amplifying positive leader attention effects on problem-solving rumination and subsequent proactivity.
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