"Rat race" or "lying flat"? The influence of performance pressure on employees' work behavior.

Introduction: Performance pressure refers to employees' subjective perception of the necessity to achieve expected goals, accompanied by a sense of urgency and tension. This study explores how employees cope with performance pressure, focusing on two contrasting strategies: the "rat race" (proactive work behavior) or "lying flat" (work withdrawal). Grounded in the transactional theory of stress and affective event theory, this research aims to uncover the mechanisms through which performance pressure influences work behavior.