purpose of this article is to discuss workplace engagement. The word engagement has been used to refer to two different things in the HR literatures, personally and organizationally. Engagement from personal perspective is the Psychological state in which the person experiences the feeling of being engaged to something he loves, the feeling of being enthused, and the enjoyment. There are different models and definitions of workplace engagement, such as the definition by Bakkar et al. (2006).This paper highlights on the advantages and disadvantages of engagement.

1. Workplace Engagements Management
Mohammad Aljeemaz, DBA Researcher
Introduction:
The purpose of this article is to discuss workplace
engagement. The word engagement has been used to
refer to two different things in the HR literatures,
personally and organizationally. Engagement from
personal perspective is the Psychological state in
which the person experiences the feeling of being
engaged to something he loves, the feeling of being
enthused, and the enjoyment. There are different
models and definitions of workplace engagement, such as the definition by Bakkar et al.
(2006).This paper highlights on the advantages and disadvantages of engagement. Highly
engaged employees are beneficial to the growth of business because they add to the
innovation and overall profitability of the organization. They promote customer loyalty,
employee retention, growth of revenues and higher profitability. However, engaged
employees might turn disengaged if they are overburdened with mounting work pressure
and stress, also engagement may lead to sidetrack activities.
Engagements positions:
Engagement refers to a positive, satisfying, job related state of mind characterized by vigor,
dedication and absorption (Bakker & Demerouti, 2008). Vigor means high intensity of
enthusiasm, energy and mental flexibility while working. For example, when an employee
gets in the morning he feels like going to work with full energy. Dedication is when
employees feel proud and inspired with their job, it is the strong devotion to work with
higher level of enthusiasm and challenge. Absorption means being fully immersed in work
with no sense of time passing by and no intention of pulling out from the work soon. There
are three dimensions to employee engagement (Rees et al, 2009; Soan et al, 2010).
1. Intellectual engagement. (Employees think hard about their work with level of
mental resilience).
2. Affective engagement. (Employees make full utilization of their emotional resources
in their performance).
3. Social engagement. (Employees share a deep emotional bond with their workplace
and strive hard for the growth of their organization).
Mohamaad Aljeemaz, DBA Researcher
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2. The employee engagement proves advantageous to the company because engaged
employees love their work, trust their employers and dedicate time and effort passionately
for the business growth. Their commitment to the organization reveals in their
performance and higher rate of productivity. Organizations with highly engaged employees
are found to experience 26% more productivity, greater level of attracting top performers,
lower rate of turnover and higher returns to shareholders (Irvine, 2009).
Advantageous:
Recognition and appreciation from managers and supervisors can increase employee
engagement and make them feel that their contribution to the company is acknowledged
and that they are valued in the organization. Recognition also demonstrates that employers
notice the little things employees do for the success of the organization which often go
unnoticed. A study conducted by socialworkplace.com shows that 69% employees are
willing to work harder if their contribution is recognized, 49% employees are willing to
leave their jobs for a company that acknowledges employees' hard work and 89% engaged
employees believe that their managers and supervisors would stand by them in times of
trouble with customers and top management (Jauhari, Sehgal and Sehgal, 2013).
Workplace friendship is another driving factor for employee engagement. Since employees
spend a considerable amount of time each day with colleagues, friendship is likely to
flourish among them. A survey conducted by a recruitment firm Randstad in 2010 shows
that a majority of people in the US are happy in their jobs when they find friendship in
office (Swift 2011). Workplace friendship makes the work environment a fulfilling,
enjoyable experience for the workers. Friendship in the workplace helps workers receive
constructive criticism from colleagues who they are friends with and boosts individual
productivity by promoting employee engagement. Communication is an important
hallmark of employee engagement. Internal corporate communication helps employees
develop a sense of attachment with the organization and contributes to their organizational
commitment. One way communication results in information overload and doesn't add to
the solution of a problem whereas two way communication in which management talks to
the employees and on the basis of responses received from the employees takes necessary
action helps a great deal in forming employee engagement as employees feel that their
voices are heard and their grievances are given serious consideration. A broad spectrum of
employee welfare programs and additional benefits can be driving factors of employee
engagement. Welfare programs like mandatory medical checkups, high blood pressure
screenings, discount on fitness centers, childcare facilities, free flu shots, BMI monitoring,
weight loss and smoking cessation programs send employees the message that the
employers value them beyond how their contribution influences the bottom line. The
employer's commitment to the well-being of employees increases job satisfaction,
retention rates and employee attendance.
Mohamaad Aljeemaz, DBA Researcher
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3. Disadvantages:
There are some problems (disadvantages) that may occur because of engagement.
Engagement if not handled properly can lead to employee dissatisfaction. If the engaged
employees feel that they are being taken advantage of by the management with more
workloads heaped on them due to their higher ability for performance, they may soon turn
disengaged. Even employees who are role models to others can at some point of time give
up if they feel that they are being pushed to their limits with more work responsibility than
others in the same job. They feel overburdened by lot of work pressure and this leads to
frustration and dissatisfaction among the high performers. When the ‘role model’
employees give up on their effort for being too much laden with work, they are likely to
show less helping attitude to others. It is often observed that dissatisfied employees are
less likely to help others than satisfied employees. Secondly, if engaged employees feel that
their work pressure is too much compared to others in the same position then they feel an
increased anger towards their supervisors. They also feel that the expectation kept of them
is too high at times to fulfill. Often in their effort to live up to the expectation they take too
much mental and physical stress on themselves which leads to a lot of uncalled for health
issues. For example, it is not uncommon for employees to suffer from back pain and slip
disc in spine due to long hours of sitting in front of computer at the workplace. If the work
stress continues for a long time then the overall efficiency of engaged employees goes
down and their motivation to do hard work is replaced by increased frustration levels.
Finally, if the motivation factor goes down, productivity goes down as a result.
The question is how to increase employee engagement? In the competition to retain best
talents of the market, companies are trying hard to improve their policies and
infrastructure to make employees develop an emotional connection with the organization
which would result in higher level of work engagement. Managers are recommended to
make sure that the organization's job design provides autonomy, social support,
performance feedback, supervisory coaching. For example, providing employee assistance
programs that help employees manage issues in their personal life emotional distress,
health care, and relationship issues. Companies with high level of employee engagement
provide employees with formal training and resources to improve effectiveness. They allow
employees to employ imagination and innovativeness into their work. They actively seek
suggestion from employees and act upon the suggestions provided. For example, if an
employee is asked by the top management to give his suggestion and inputs about the
launching of a new product by the company would feel important to have his opinion
considered in the matter. This in turn would increase his confidence and his involvement
with the organizational objectives.
Giving work responsibilities to employees and involving them in the decision making
process strengthens the morale of the employees, boosts up their self-confidence and gives
Mohamaad Aljeemaz, DBA Researcher
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4. them a sense of empowerment. Employees feel accountable for the jobs they do and feel
emotionally involved with the organization which resultantly improves their productivity.
Managers play an important role in creating employee engagement. Since managers and
immediate supervisors are the ones employees are directly in communication with, their
roles are crucial to help employees feel engaged with the organization. The interaction
between the managers and the team members influences employee engagement to a great
deal. The manager's attitude, behavior and feeling are instrumental in making positive
impact on the employee.Studies show that about 80% employees globally feel that
employers should be responsible for the wellbeing of the employees by providing them
healthcare benefits and incentives. Of all healthcare benefits provided by the employers,
64% employees find health insurance to be the most attractive one. Apart from healthcare
benefits, some companies provide many other perks for the employees such as childcare
facilities, discount on gyms, training and so on.
Conclusion:
Engaged employees utilize physical, cognitive and emotional resources in their
performance. Highly engaged employees prove to be an advantage by adding to the
innovation and overall productivity of the organization. They bring customer loyalty,
growth of revenues and higher profitability. However, engaged employees might turn
disengaged if they are bogged down by too much work pressure and stress. There are many
driving factors to employee engagement such as communication, career opportunities,
brand alignment, recognition and appreciation, and workplace relationships. Most of the
companies these days are implementing a lot of strategies to increase the employee
engagement because it is very important to have the employees satisfied for the success of
a company and higher level of employee satisfaction translates into a result of increased
productivity and bottom-line of the organization. After all, the main limitation is that there
are some employees who do not want to get engaged. No one can force someone to love
something!
Mohamaad Aljeemaz, DBA Researcher
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5. References:
Bakker, Arnold B. and Demerouti, Evangelia. 2008. Towards a model of work engagement, Career Development
International, Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Vol 13
Jauhari, Vinnie. Sehgal, Rajesh and Sehgal, Pooja. 2013. Talent Management and Employee Engagement: Insights from
Infotech Enterprises Ltd. Journal of Services Research, Institute for International Management and Technology.
Kolflat, Leif. 2012. Mission: Brand Alignment, HRO Today, Viewed on 29 Dec 2013
<http://www.hrotoday.com/content/5111/mission-brand-alignment>
Swift, Persis.2011.Workplace Friendships: Reap the Benefits and Avoid the Negatives, Workplace Insights: A North Carolina
Employer's Handbook, Viewed on 29 Dec 2013 <http://blog.capital.org/workplace-friendships-reap-thebenefits-and-avoid-the-negatives/>
Irvine, Derek. 2009. Employee Engagement: What It Is and Why You Need It, Bloomberg Business Week, Viewed on 29 Dec
2013 <http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/may2009/db2009058_952910.htm>
The case for Increasing Employee Engagement, Navisys Transformation Limited, Viewed on 29 Dec 2013
<http://www.navisystransformation.com/pdf/Employee_Engagement.pdf>
Bulygo, Zach. Inside Google’s Culture of Success and Employee Happiness, Viewed on 29 Dec 2013
<http://blog.kissmetrics.com/googles-culture-of-success/>
Mohamaad Aljeemaz, DBA Researcher
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