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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine potential antecedents and consequences of work engagement in a sample of male and female managers and professionals employed in various organizations and industries in Egypt.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 242 respondents, a 48 percent response rate, using anonymously completed questionnaires. Engagement was assessed by three scales developed by Schaufeli et al.; vigor, dedication, and absorption. Antecedents included personal demographic and work situation characteristics as well as measures of need for achievement and workaholic behaviors; consequences included measures of work satisfaction and psychological well‐being.FindingsThe following results are observed. First, both need for achievement and one workaholic job behavior are found to predict all three engagement measures. Second, engagement, particularly dedication, predict various work outcomes (e.g. job satisfaction, intent to quit). Third, engagement, again, particularly dedication, predicted various psychological well‐being outcomes but less strongly than these predicted work outcomes.Research limitations/implicationsQuestions of causality cannot be addressed since data were collected at only one‐point in time. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine the effects of work life experiences on engagement.Practical implicationsOrganizations can increase levels of work engagement by creating supportive work experiences (e.g. control, rewards, and recognition) consistent with effective human resource management (HRM) practices. But caution must be exercised before employing North American practices in the Egyptian context.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the understanding of work engagement among managers and professionals and HRM more broadly in a large Muslim country.

Purpose -The work-family interface has received considerable attention during the past two decades but inconsistent findings have been reported. Reasons for this include the use of different work-family conflict (WFC) measures, samples, outcomes, and countries and cultures. Carlson et al. developed and provided an initial validation of a new comprehensive measure of bi-directional WFC having three forms: time-, strain-, and behavior-based conflict. The purpose of this paper is to replicate and extended their work employing a large sample of managers working in various organizations and industries in Egypt, a large Muslim country, and including additional correlates. Design/methodology/approach -Data were collected from 242 respondents, 146 males and 96 females, using anonymously completed questionnaires, a 48 percent response rate. Measures included three forms of WFC, personal demographic and work situation characteristics, stable individual difference personality factors, job behaviors, work outcomes, after-work recovery experiences, indicators of quality of life (e.g. WFC, life satisfaction) and psychological well-being. Findings -The three measures of WFC were acceptably reliable and inter-correlated to the same extent as reported by Carlson and her colleagues in their US study. The mean values in the Egyptian sample were higher than those in the US study indicating more WFC, and the gender differences reported by Carlson et al. were not found in the Egyptian sample. Both stable personality characteristics (e.g. need for achievement) and job demands (e.g. perceptions of work intensity) were positively associated with WFC. Use of recovery experiences after work had limited and mixed effects on levels of WFC. WFC generally had negative relationships with work outcomes and indicators of psychological well-being.Research limitations/implications -The presence of country differences suggests the need for more cross-cultural research involving participants in the same occupations. Practical implications -Results suggest that both individual characteristics and job demands are associated with levels of WFC. Efforts to reduce levels of WFC need to address both. Originality/value -The paper adds to the understanding of work experiences of managers in Egypt and replicates and extends earlier work.