Vogel and his PhD student, Mustafa Akben (PhD, 2023), introduce the concept of proactivity permission, the perception that an employee is “allowed” to take initiative at work. Using dominance theory, they identify individual (employee status, entitlement), relational (high-quality relationships with supervisors), and group-level (organizational rule consistency, normative tightness) factors that shape these perceptions. Based on data from 388 employees across 35 organizations, their research shows that proactivity permission predicts proactive work behavior beyond existing motivation- and personality-based models. The findings highlight the importance of understanding workplace hierarchy, leadership quality, and organizational norms in shaping employee initiative.
The Role of Permission in the Employee Proactivity Process
