Since the outbreak of COVID-19, community workers’ proactive behavior has played a noteworthy role in the crisis response. Previous research has not highlighted this group and their proactive behavior. To address this important gap, drawing upon the job demands–resources model, this study explores how red tape affects proactive behavior and investigates the mediating role of lack of goal progress and the moderating role of public service motivation in this relationship. Based on a two-wave survey with a sample of 656 community (...) workers in China, we found a negative relationship between red tape and proactive behavior. Moreover, this study showed that LOGP mediated this relationship. Contrary to our hypothesis, PSM did not moderate the relationship between LOGP and proactive behavior. These findings have important theoretical and practical implications and can better inform community work during COVID-19. (shrink)