Based on the theoretical framework of the person x situation approach of the job demands-resources theory, this study examined the relationships among employees’ adaptive perfectionism, learning goal orientation, proactive behavior, and job satisfac...
Based on the theoretical framework of the person x situation approach of the job demands-resources theory, this study examined the relationships among employees’ adaptive perfectionism, learning goal orientation, proactive behavior, and job satisfaction, and explored how Zhongyong—a Confucian concept of the mean—influences proactive behavior. Specifically, the research investigated (1) the mediating effects of learning goal orientation and proactive behavior on the relationship between adaptive perfectionism and job satisfaction, (2) whether Zhongyong moderates the relationship between learning goal orientation and proactive behavior, and (3) whether a moderated-mediation effect emerges across the entire pathway. By doing so, the study aimed to harness perfectionism as a positive resource in workplace counseling and, by clarifying the links between the relatively stable trait of adaptive perfectionism and the more malleable factors of learning goal orientation, proactive behavior, and Zhongyong, to propose concrete intervention directions for counseling practice.
For this research purpose, this study collected data through an online survey of 438 office workers through an online research company. The collected data were examined through the ‘lavaan’ package of the RStudio/2025.05.1.. Build 513 program to examine the demographic characteristics of the research participants, and descriptive statistics and correlation analysis were performed to confirm the characteristics and correlations of each variable. Afterwards, the mediation effect and the moderated mediation effect were analyzed, and the statistical significance of the analysis results was verified through the bootstrapping technique.
The principal findings are as follows. First, learning goal orientation and proactive behavior jointly produced a positive mediating effect in the relationship between adaptive perfectionism and job satisfaction. Second, Zhongyong showed a significant moderated-mediation effect in the pathway by which adaptive perfectionism influences job satisfaction through learning goal orientation and proactive behavior. Specifically, higher levels of Zhongyong intensified the impact of learning goal orientation on proactive behavior and consequently amplified the overall indirect effect along the full pathway.
By focusing on employees’ adaptive perfectionism, this research re-illuminated the constructive side of perfectionism and provided a comprehensive account of how learning goal orientation and proactive behavior mediate its link with job satisfaction. The study’s value lies in integrating the chain of personality → motivation → behavior → satisfaction (well-being) within a single structural framework. It is also noteworthy as the first domestic attempt to test Zhongyong as a moderating variable in an employee sample. Finally, the study underscores the necessity of simultaneously considering personality, motivation, behavior, and satisfaction (well-being) in workplace education and HRD, offers actionable intervention directions for workplace counseling, and highlights the potential applicability of Zhongyong in organizational contexts.