Do illegitimate tasks undermine employees’ pro-environmental behavior? Examining the roles of environmental concern and work overload

Based on the conservation of resources theory, this study examines how illegitimate tasks relate to employees’ pro-environmental behavior through environmental concern, and how work overload shapes these relationships. Using cross-sectional survey data from 289 academic professionals in private universities in Pakistan, analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (with PLS-SEM), the findings show that illegitimate tasks are negatively associated with pro-environmental behavior but positively associated with environmental concern. Moreover, environmental concern is positively associated with pro-environmental behavior. These results indicate an inconsistent mediation pattern: illegitimate tasks directly undermine pro-environmental behavior, while indirectly offsetting this negative association through heightened environmental concern. Work overload further strengthens the positive relationship between illegitimate tasks and environmental concern but weakens the relationship between environmental concern and pro-environmental behavior. The study contributes to sustainability and HRM literature by showing that employees facing illegitimate tasks may become more environmentally concerned, yet workload pressures can prevent this concern from translating into pro-environmental action. Practically, the findings suggest that reducing illegitimate tasks and managing workload are important for supporting environmentally responsible behavior in academic institutions.