Category Archives: Engagement
Everybody Wins: The Power of Engagement in Promoting Work-Family Facilitation (IO Psychology)
Topic: Work-Life Balance, Engagement
Publication: Human Relations (SEP 2012)
Article: Work Engagement and Work-Family Facilitation: Making Homes Happier Through Positive Affective Spillover
Authors: Satoris Culbertson, Maura Mills, & Clive Fullager
Reviewed By: Thaddeus Rada
For many years, researchers in IO psychology have focused on the negative outcomes, such as stress and health problems, that can be associated with employees balancing work and family demands. However, within work-family research, one area that has become more popular over the past several years is work-family facilitation, which examines how work and family demands, rather than competing with one another, can actually be beneficial and make an individual more effective in both the work and family domains.
The authors of a recent paper examined the impact of work engagement on work-family facilitation. Collecting data on a daily basis over the course of two weeks from over 50 individuals, the researchers found that both work engagement and work-family facilitation appear to vary considerably from day to day. More importantly, the researchers also found that daily work engagement had a positive relationship with family life, such that employees who were more engaged with their work tended to have more positive experiences both at work and at home.
One of the main findings of this study is the notion that work engagement may be best conceptualized as a state-like construct, as opposed to a more permanent trait-like construct; this finding suggests that organizations can influence work engagement through workplace policies and interventions. This capability for organizations to influence engagement is especially important in light of this study’s other main finding; namely, that engagement appears to enhance work-family facilitation. So, through improving engagement, organizations may be able to positively impact work-family facilitation for their employees as well, thus providing a number of benefits to everyone involved.
human resource management, organizational industrial psychology, organizational management
Let Me Hear from You: Encouraging Employee Voice Behavior (IO Psychology)
Topic: Engagement, Fairness
Publication: Personnel Psychology (SUMMER 2012)
Article: Applying Uncertainty Management Theory to Employee Voice Behavior: An Integrative Investigation
Authors: Riki Takeuchi, Zhijun Chen, & Siu Yin Cheung
Reviewed By: Thaddeus Rada
In recent years, IO psychology has taken note of the desire that many organizations have for their employees to make creative suggestions to improve the organization. The importance of these contributions (collectively known as employee voice behavior) appears to be increasing, particularly as organizations try to “innovate from within,” as opposed to relying as much on external sources for their innovative ideas. However, this desire for employee voice comes with a challenge: employees may be reluctant to share ideas, particularly if they challenge the status quo in the organization or their workgroup. Therefore, if employees are going to use their “voice,” it is important that employees feel they can trust their bosses and the management of the organization.
With the goal of improving our understanding of the factors that impact employee voice behavior, a recent paper by Riki Takeuchi and colleagues examined the role that justice perceptions may play in increasing or decreasing voice behavior. Specifically, the authors examined the unique influence of three types of justice on employee voice behavior. Among their hypotheses, the authors suggested a positive relationship between interpersonal justice (being treated fairly by other people) and employee voice behavior; they also suggested that perceptions of procedural justice (fairness of policies and procedures) would impact the interpersonal justice-employee voice relationship. Using a large sample of employee-manager pairings, the authors found solid support for their hypotheses.
The results of this study demonstrate the importance of having high levels of interpersonal justice (particularly between employees and their managers) for encouraging employee voice behavior; the results also suggest that this relationship may be influenced by employees’ perceptions of other types of justice, such as procedural and distributive justice. As a whole, this study provides further support for the notion that organizations should be concerned with the justice perceptions of their employees, not only for more traditional reasons such as maintaining high job satisfaction, but for encouraging employee voice behavior as well.
human resource management, organizational industrial psychology, organizational management
Predicting Burnout: Playing Well With Others Can Go a Long Way!
Topic: Burnout, Engagement
Publication: Journal of Vocational Behavior (SUMMER 2011)
Article: Social strategies during university studies predict early career work burnout and engagement: 18-year longitudinal study
Authors: Salmela-Aro, K., Tolvanen, A., Nurmi, J. E.
Reviewed by: Larry Martinez
Sure, there are days when we just don’t want to go to work. In these times, the very thought of going in to the office can make one cringe…we feel like we need a long, isolated vacation. In short, we’re burned out. This is a big problem for companies, who rely on employees to be actively engaged and energetic at work. However, it may be that some people are more or less intrinsically susceptible to burnout and disengagement at work. That is, some people just have burnout-prone personality characteristics and thus may be unwise investments for employers. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could figure out who these people are likely to be? Salmela-Aro and her colleagues (2011) address this issue directly.
These authors followed 292 university students through their academic and subsequent careers (sometimes for as long as 18 years) to find personality characteristics that might predict burnout and disengagement. Specifically, they found that social strategies used during college were indicators of later reported levels of burnout and engagement. Social strategies include the extent to which someone is positively (optimism) or negatively (pessimism) inclined to value and approach social relationships. So, if you have an optimistic social orientation, you are likely to 1) build relationships with coworkers who can act as resources, 2) ask for help when problems arise, and 3) have support from others when the going gets tough. The opposite would be true for someone with a pessimistic (avoidant) social orientation.
If you’re trying to cut costs, don’t cut the engagement survey
Topic: Engagement, Job Satisfaction, Surveys
Publication: Journal of Business and Psychology (JUN 2011)
Article: Measuring employee engagement during a financial downturn: Business imperative or nuisance?
Authors: Van Rooy, D. L., Whitman, D. S., Hart, D., & Caleo, S.
Reviewed by: Alexandra Rechlin
In these difficult economic times, organizations have been forced to cut costs. One way in which organizations are saving money is by reducing the use of employee surveys, but Van Rooy et al. (2011) contend that these surveys are valuable and should not be cut. The authors argue that measuring engagement is important because engagement has been shown to be related to many important business outcomes, such as turnover, efficiency, and performance. By researching engagement, an organization can better protect its current talent and prepare itself to attract talent that may leave other organizations.
The authors provide advice for practitioners who want to measure engagement but are looking to save money. Re-administering a survey without making changes from the previous administration will reduce costs, though it will present challenges if edits need to be made. Items should be directly actionable, so that responses to the items can be used to make real changes.
Using performance management practices to drive employee engagement
Topic: Engagement, Job Performance, Job Attitudes
Publication: Journal of Business and Psychology (JUN 2011)
Article: Performance management at the wheel: Driving employee engagement in organizations
Authors: Mone, E., Eisinger, C., Guggenheim, K., Price, B., Stine, C.
Reviewed by: Alexandra Rechlin
You’ve probably heard quite a bit about employee engagement lately, and you know that you want engaged employees. However, what can you do to increase levels of employee engagement? This article discusses ways in which performance management practices can be used to drive employee engagement and provides suggestions for future research.
Many different definitions of engagement exist. In this article, engaged employees are defined as those who feel committed, involved, passionate, and empowered, and they must demonstrate those feelings in their behavior. The authors use prior research and theory to support their argument for why each of five different performance management practices can lead to increased engagement. The performance management practices described are: (1) setting performance and development goals, (2) providing ongoing feedback and recognition, (3) managing employee development, (4) conducting mid-year and end-year appraisals, and (5) building a climate of trust and empowerment.
Following any of the above performance management practices should lead to increased levels of employee engagement, but the authors note that the relevant impact of the different practices remains to be studied.
