Most previous studies suggest that time pressure is negatively related to employees’ thriving at work. However, we argue that this effect depends on the stress mindset (i.e., stress-is-enhancing and stress-is-debilitating mindset), which shapes the nature of the growth orientation of humanity (i.e., growth and fixed orientation). A field study of 373 R&D personnel from 8 enterprises and research institutes in China corroborated our predictions: First, the stress-is-enhancing mindset positively moderates the relationship between time pressure and thriving at work. Second, the stress-is-debilitating mindset negatively moderates the relationship between time pressure and thriving at work. Third, the stress-is-enhancing mindset moderates the indirect effect of time pressure on innovative behavior through thriving at work, the positive indirect effect above is stronger when the level of the stress-is-enhancing mindset is high. Fourth, the stress-is-debilitating mindset moderates the indirect effect of time pressure on innovative behavior through thriving at work, the negative indirect effect above is stronger when the level of the stress-is-debilitating mindset is high. The implications for the theory and practice of time pressure and thriving at work are also discussed.