Achievement Goal–Directed Mechanism Connecting Conscientiousness to Inefficacy: Evidence From Resting-State fMRI

Inefficacy plays a crucial role in the manifestation of burnout, leading to various adverse outcomes for employees and organizations. Although previous studies have empirically demonstrated that individuals with high conscientiousness are less prone to experiencing inefficacy, this relationship remains undertheorized. Leveraging the theory of purposeful work behavior and the organizational cognitive neuroscience perspective, we provide a novel theoretical framework and develop a neurological index representing the achievement goal–directed mechanism connecting conscientiousness to inefficacy among employees. We conducted a survey involving 201 full-time working adults from diverse organizations, measuring their brains through structural MRI and resting-state fMRI. The results reveal that a neurological index indicative of the achievement goal–directed mechanism—specifically, resting-state functional connectivity of the bilateral medial prefrontal cortex with the left hippocampus (RSFC of MPFC-HC)—was negatively associated with inefficacy and positively associated with conscientiousness. Importantly, mediation analysis establishes that this neurological index partially mediates the relationship between conscientiousness and inefficacy. These findings carry significant theoretical and practical implications for addressing inefficacy in the workplace.