Abstract
Employee engagement is everyone's business. The chapter examines several topical issues that impact organizations and are antecedents to employee engagement. Recognizing that disengagement costs companies in the United States more than US$350 billion annually is a good start. Retention is key. The author defines employee engagement and examines the elements that comprise it, as defined by Kahn. Factors in the workplace that contribute to disengagement are examined. There is discussion about why engagement matters and how it relates to the organization's culture, public image, and customers. Stemming from this, another key question is: What is disengagement? Is it the opposite of engagement? Organizational determinants like corporate social responsibility (CSR) and communication are mentioned. Suggestions are offered to integrate the workforce in the post-pandemic world. Leadership is an integral part of an organization's success. Does leadership style facilitate engagement?
TopSetting The Stage
In this chapter on Employee Engagement, we will explore employee engagement from the first time it appeared in the literature and cover the topic under the following sub-headings:
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Defining Employee Engagement
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The importance of Employee Engagement
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What is disengagement?
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How we can work together
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A leader’s role in employee engagement
The learning outcomes (L.O.) for this chapter are as follows:
L.O.1 – Define employee engagement
L.O.2 – Identify employee engagement in your own organization
L.O.3 – Discuss why employee engagement is important
L.O.4 – Define disengagement
L.O.5 – Identify potential areas of disengagement in your own organization
L.O.6 – Identify different groups that work in your organization
L.O.7 – Highlight the role a leader plays in employee engagement
L.O.8 – Describe at least three different leadership styles
L.O.9 – Identify organizations where different leadership styles would fit
TopDefining Employee Engagement
While the concept is not new, there is still some disparity about what the term means. The lack of consensus stems from a paucity of research on the subject compared with other concepts that affect us in organizations. Employee engagement as a concept became trendy and started to gain traction after the widespread remote work phase that was thrust upon us by the Covid-19 pandemic.
We will use the following working definitions in this chapter:
Key Terms in this Chapter
Corporate Social Responsibility: The activities in which an organization is involved that help the community within which it operates. Some activities could include sponsorship of activities that the employees enjoy.
Ethics: The branch of philosophy concerned with the morals that govern a person’s behavior.
Employee Engagement: Employee engagement is the harnessing of organization members’ selves to their work roles; engaged personnel employ and express themselves physically, cognitively, and emotionally during role performances ( Kahn, 1990 ).
Employee Disengagement: Kahn (1990) defined employee disengagement as the uncoupling of selves from work roles; in disengagement, people withdraw and defend themselves physically, cognitively, or emotionally during role performances.
Workplace Culture: How the employees in an organization conduct themselves in the discharge of the day-to-day activities of the organization.
Ageist: Discriminating against someone on the grounds of how old they are.
Engagement: Is defined as a positive, fulfilling, work-related state of mind that is characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption ( Schaufeli et al., 2002 ).