The Different Aspects of Employee Engagement - Term Paper Example

 Engagement at Work Introduction There is a lot of confusion about what specifically is employee engagement because of lack of clarity relative to its definition and evaluation. Generally, it is understood as the extent of involvement and commitment the worker demonstrates towards his organization and its value systems. An employee who is engaged is in the know of the business context and carries on with his work in improving his job performance for the benefit of his employer. This paper examines the different aspects of employee engagement and evaluates the options available to employers to take actions in enabling employees to deliver their highest levels of engagement, commitment and achievement. One clear aspect is that employee engagement is reinforced with fair practices and relative procedures. With the evolvement of the work place and the work force, organizations realize that to succeed in the search for talent, they have to first succeed in winning over employees through elements such as trust, justice and perceptions and through practices that make their roles clear. Amongst the major factors that improve employee engagement are change management and effective communication systems. Theorists have held that companies that can unlock the secrets of employee engagement can benefit from maximum profits (Vance, 2006). Literature Review Research has suggested that employee engagement and high level of psychological well being of workers plays a major role in achieving organizational objectives related to successful and profitable organizations. Psychological well being of any company is directly associated with performance levels. Studies conducted by Folger and Cropanzano (1998) have revealed that workers experiencing higher levels of psychological well being work better and that this well being is a superior forecaster of work performance than job satisfaction. According to Robinson et al (2004), employee engagement is defined as “A positive attitude held by the employee towards the organization and its values. An engaged employee is aware of business context, and works with colleagues to improve performance within the job for the benefit of the organization” (Robinson et al, 2004, p.5). The concept of employee engagement was first introduced by Kahn (1990) whereby he held that in being engaged, employees are emotionally, cognitively and physically involved while working in the organization. Another aspect of employee engagement is the flow relative to holistic sensations that are experienced by workers while performing their roles with complete involvement. This flow is the mental condition whereby minimal distinction is made amongst the self and the working environment and while employees are in such flow, they do not need to exert much conscious controls while working. Therefore, organizations must strive to create employee engagement whereby the working environment is characterized as a two way relationship amongst employees and employer. According to Parsley (2006), employee engagement is mostly related to the current structure of work involvement, which is the extent to which the job is considered as most important to the worker and his identity in the organization. It was held by Cooper and Quick (1999) that involvement is dependent on the need to be salient and on the ability of the scope of work to comply with such needs. This kind of involvement is a result of the cognitive perceptions relative to the ability of the job to satisfy employee needs. From this perspective, jobs are directly related to the employee’s self image. Employee engagement is different from the job because it is more related to the ways in the worker views himself while working. Additionally, engagement involves considerable use of emotions and can be viewed as a precursor of job involvement because workers that think of being deeply engaged in their roles eventually identify with their roles in the organization. A review of the literature indicates that a larger construct relative to complete engagement that includes both employee well being and commitment will provide better results for both organizations and employees. Focusing only on commitment will make workers liable of experiencing bad psychological health, which means that a high level of engagement will not be sustained for long under such circumstances. Therefore, complete engagement is possible only when the psychological well being of employees is high. Analysis and Discussion It is important for employers to identify the major factors that can be introduced in improving employee engagement. The major factors that can be used in measuring the current status of employee engagement in the organization are working relationships, work life balance, load of work, job security, extent of control and autonomy, availability of resources, level of communication, pay and incentives and extent of job satisfaction. There are some other measures of full engagement such as sense of purpose and organizational commitment. According to Mukherjee (2005), it is very important for the organization to ensure positive psychological well being amongst employees. As per research carried out by (Mukherjee, 2005), the management can effectively integrate employee engagement in the organization by adopting specific review processes. Organizations should provide employees with higher levels of engagements through opportunities with which they enhance their skills and acquire new abilities and knowledge in realizing their full potential. Organizations planning for better employee careers get back from employees in terms of their investments in the organization. Career development impacts employee engagement and retains talent and provides personal development opportunities. Clarity of company value systems will avoid possibilities of ambiguity amongst employees relative to the core values of the organization. It is important to respect employees for their contribution to the organization, irrespective of their job status. The organization’s positive and high ethical standards lead to greater employee engagement. All employees also have the inherent need to be involved in the decision making process in the work they are involved in. Leadership in high engagement organizations ensures the creation of a challenging and trustful atmosphere so that workers feel encouraged to disassociate from any orthodox practices that may be present in the organization. The level of employee engagement will be high when the management provides equal opportunities for career advancement to all workers. Just assessment of employees’ performance is crucial to ascertain employee engagement and companies following effective performance appraisal systems will experience high level of employee engagement. The organization should be characterized with an efficient compensation and benefits system that motivates workers. It is known through research that employee engagement proves to be low when employees do not have a sense of security in the working environment. Therefore, organizations should ensure implementation of practices that ensure worker health and safety. It is known that satisfied employees eventually become engaged employees, which means it is important for organizations to ensure that job portfolios are allotted in keeping with the career goals of individual employees. Following an open door policy through upward and downward communication practices in the organization will make workers to have a sense of involvement in the decision making process, which will lead to higher levels of employee engagement. Every worker is impacted by his family life and when he realizes that the organization is concerned about his family’s welfare also, he will be more emotionally attached with the organization that will make him more engaged in the work place. The entire organization should work together in assisting one another, including managers and workers, which will lead to higher employee engagement. Conclusions and Recommendations Integrating employee engagement provides practical and meaningful approaches for making improvements in organizational functioning. It is evident that the examined factors have a direct link with the benefits at organizational level relative to integration of employee engagement at work. The development of psychological well being is very important for the sustained development of employee engagement, which is also corroborated by the given theoretical evidence and background. Employees experiencing higher level of psychological well being will demonstrate different behaviors that result in high employee engagement. However, there is need to carry out further research to determine the relationship amongst psychological well being and integration of employee engagement. If researchers can arrive at a consensus relative to coherence in the definition and assessment of employee engagement, the body of knowledge in this regard will be considerably enhanced. There is need to carry out more empirical studies to analyze the statistical relationship amongst scales and terms devised for measuring well being and engagement. The understanding relative to employee engagement relates primarily to effective employee communication. It is also understood as the positive attitude that prevails amongst employees towards their employers and the organization’s value systems. The concept is now becoming popular and is being increasingly used in working environments because it significantly impacts the organization in several ways. Integrating employee engagement implies focusing on the significance of communication relative to organizational success. It is thus required of organizations to understand employees better and recognize that they are big contributors in enhancing the organization’s competitiveness in the market. Thus, employee engagement should be adopted as a consistent procedure of learning, improving, acting and measuring. With an evolving work force and work environment, organizations realize that to succeed in the search for talent, they have to first succeed in winning over employees through elements such as trust, justice and perceptions and through practices that make their roles clear. References Cooper, C.L. and Quick, J. 1999. Stress and Strain, Health Press, Oxford. Folger, R. & Cropanzano, R. 1998. Organizational justice and human resource management. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Mukherjee, Ashok. 2005. Engagement for the mind body, and soul. Human Capital. Parsley, A. 2006. Road map for employee engagement. Management Services.Spring. Robinson, D., Perryman, S. and Hayday, S. 2004. The Drivers of Employee Engagement, Institute for Employment Studies, Brighton. Vance, R. J. (2006). Employee engagement and commitment, Society for Human Resource Management. Read More