Abstract
This developmental paper proposes a model explaining how AI-driven HRM shapes two strategically important employee outcomes: innovativeness and well-being through a day-to-day behavioral mechanism: playful work design. The core argument is that when employees perceive AI-driven HRM as supportive and developmental (rather than primarily monitoring or standardizing), they may feel greater ‘permission’ to redesign their work in playful ways (e.g., adding challenge, variety, and experimentation). Playful work design is positioned as a proximal mediator that can energize creative problem-solving (supporting innovativeness) and improve affective work experience (supporting well-being), while acknowledging that different playful forms (e.g., fun vs competition) may have distinct well-being implications. The model further proposes epistemic curiosity as a boundary condition, distinguishing interest-based and deprivation-based curiosity as moderators of the AI-driven HRM and playful work design link with a possible trade-off extension for deprivation curiosity and well-being. A three-wave time-lagged survey design is outlined.