Employee Engagement and HRD: A Seminal Review of the Foundations

Abstract

The term employee engagement has gained considerable popularity in the past 20 years yet it remains inconsistently defined and conceptualized. Although much has been written on the subject, little rigorous academic research has been done. This gap has resulted in a disjointed approach to understanding and developing strategies around employee engagement within organizations. This article explores the development of employee engagement through a historical lens using an integrated literature review to define and situate the concept within the HRD field by systematically reviewing and organizing literature across various disciplines and fields of study. Seminal works on the topic were identified and reviewed to gain an understanding of the topic’s development.A working definition is proposed and implications for theory, scholarship, and organizational practice are discussed.

An examination of individual teacher engagement and school climate characteristics that influence highly effective veteran teachers to remain teaching in low-performing schools.

“…Shuck and Wollard (2010) defined EE as "an individual's cognitive, emotional, and behavioral state directed toward a desired organizational outcome" (p. 103). In more recent work, EE was defined as an active, work-related positive psychological state operationalized by the intensity and direction of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral energy (Shuck, Adelson, & Reio, 2016Shuck, Nimon, & Zigarmi, 2017.…”

“…Examples of studies using Kahn's (1990) framework were researched by Shuck (2010) and Rich et al (2010). Rich et al (2010) conducted a correlation research on 245 firemen and their supervisors.…”

“…Engagement was defined as "a distinct and unique construct that consists of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components that are associated with individual role performance" (Saks, 2006, p. 602). The definitions given in previous literature were included in Saks' (2006) definition of EE (Harter et al, 2002;Kahn, 1990;Maslach et al, 2001;Shuck & Wollard, 2010). The sample comprised 102 employees from various jobs and organizations who also attended graduate courses at a large Canadian university.…”

“…Kahn (1990) introduced this concept as a positive psychological construct applicable to organizations and human resource development. The literature on engagement suggested myriad definitions (Harter et al, 2002;Kahn, 1990;Maslach et al, 2001;Saks, 2006;Shuck, 2011;Shuck & Wollard, 2010). However, conceptualization of EE came from Shuck and Wollard (2010) where employee engagement was defined as "an individual's cognitive, emotional and behavioral state directed toward desired organizational outcomes" (p. 103).…”

“…The literature on engagement suggested myriad definitions (Harter et al, 2002;Kahn, 1990;Maslach et al, 2001;Saks, 2006;Shuck, 2011;Shuck & Wollard, 2010). However, conceptualization of EE came from Shuck and Wollard (2010) where employee engagement was defined as "an individual's cognitive, emotional and behavioral state directed toward desired organizational outcomes" (p. 103). Shuck (2011) presented four emerging perspectives of employee engagement based on the work of Kahn, 1990;Maslach et al, 2001;Harter et al, 2002;and Saks, 2006. A commonality between the four perspectives was that "for absorption [total commitment to the job] to occur, an employee must readily have physical, emotional, and psychological resources to complete their work" (Shuck, 2011).…”