The purpose of this article is to respond to the lack of consistency in the academic and practitioner literature regarding the construct of employee engagement and to offer a platform for the research and use of a refined construct called employee work passion. This article analyzes the differences between the concepts of engagement of the two groups of writers and proposes a new definition and framework based on social cognitive theory. Three recommendations are made for human resource development researchers and practitioners who seek to improve both the data and the strategies used in constructing engagement or work passion surveys. Engagement or passion surveys should (a) specifically and convincingly assess the affective components of the appraisal process, (b) differentiate descriptive cognitions and intentions, and (c) separate and corroborate intentions from behaviors.

Four dimensions of a process model for the formulation of employee work passion, derived from Zigarmi, Nimon, Houson, Witt, and Diehl (2009)Zigarmi, Nimon, Houson, Witt, and Diehl (2009) proposed a process model for the formulation of employee work passion using social cognitive theory as an underlying framework. Recognizing the issues in the existing employee engagement literature, Zigarmi et al. developed a cognitive model that separates the constructs of work affect, work cognition, and work intention in order to describe the formation of a construct they termed employee work passion. They used the term employee work passion to differentiate the construct from the redundancy, confusion, and misinterpretation associated with employee engagement. Their model provides human resource development (HRD) professionals with the opportunity to serve their employee base by understanding the factors that connect employees' experience of their organizational work life to their resultant work passion.The employee work passion model (Zigarmi et al., 2009) offers three advantages to the process of diagnosing and improving organizational life over and above traditional models of employee engagement (e.g., Avery, McKay, & Wilson, 2007;Harter, Schmidt, & Hayes, 2002). First, employee work passion considers both organizational and job factors. Second, employee work passion incorporates self-defining activities. Third, employee work passion is supported by theory that can explain how it is formed.

Contemporary literature lacks a comprehensive set of constructs that provides for understanding both the organizational and job factors that influence employee work passion. Through a detailed analysis of literature, this research identifies eight constructs that form the basis for the appraisal of an employee's work experience with the use of both a job and an organizational focus. This article reports on the development and validation of a new instrument (Work Cognition Inventory) that measures the identified constructs.Data from three studies provide initial evidence of construct validity, discriminant validity, and convergent validity. Implications for the human resource development practitioner and future research are discussed.

Some contemporary authors have advocated the use and measurement of intention as a means to increase the understanding and application of employee engagement and work passion in organizational settings. The purpose of this article is to describe the rationale, methods, and results across two studies conducted to develop, refine, and validate a set of work intention scales. Evidence of construct validity for the employee Work Intention Inventory (WII) is presented along with limitations, and implications for research and practice.

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