Leading future orientations for current effectiveness: The role of engagement and supervisor coaching in linking future work self salience to job performance

Recent research suggests that the salience of a future work self has a considerable impact on future-oriented activities such as skill development, career planning, career networking, and job searching. However, little is known as to whether, how, and under what conditions a more salient future work self may influence concomitant work outcomes such as job performance. Drawing on self-regulation theory, we argue that future work self salience (FWSS) affects job performance via its influence on engagement, with this influence amplified as a function of supervisor coaching. Using multi-source and lagged data collected from employees (N = 441), their direct supervisors (N = 98), and archival records in an insurance company, we found that engagement mediated the relationships between FWSS and both supervisor-rated and archival sales performance. Furthermore, the relationships FWSS has with employee engagement and sales performance, as well as the indirect effects of FWSS on two performance indicators, were stronger for employees exposed to higher levels of supervisor coaching.