Reframing Employee Engagement Within the Context of Meaning and Purpose

Abstract

The Problem. Leaders who develop high levels of employee engagement within their organizations enjoy increased levels of competitive advantage. Consequently, organizations understandably desire higher levels of engagement. However, present research and perspectives on employee engagement have focused primarily on leveraging outcomes toward performance rather than the conditions that nurture performance. Such a unidimensional focus presents a gap in understanding how engagement emerges in practice and what strategies human resource development (HRD) practitioners can utilize to cultivate positive conditions for employee engagement. The Solution. Reframing engagement within the context of meaning and purpose provides a unique lens from which to view the conditions that cultivate the development of engagement. In this article, we present an alternative, yet complementary view of employee engagement that focuses on how performance can be sustained within the context of meaning and purpose. Emerging implications for the field of HRD are explored. The Stakeholders. The intended audience for this article includes HRD scholars, scholar-practitioners, practitioners, and students interested in the development and use of employee engagement, meaningful work, and the operationalization of meaning and purpose within an HRD context.

How can personal development lead to increased engagement? The roles of meaningfulness and perceived line manager relations

“…This indicates that broaden-and-build theory (Fredrickson, 2001) may explain the intermediary psychological process that links personal development with engagement, and indicates that HRM and engagement scholars should examine this theory in more depth. Within the context of engagement, Shuck and Rose (2013) suggest that meaningfulness can be interpreted as contribution, influence, and reward; and Kahn and Heaphy (2014) highlight the relational dimensions of deepened purpose and heightened belongingness as important pathways through which meaningfulness and engagement are shaped. Thus, these avenues through which meaningfulness can manifest and influence engagement warrant further investigation, and broaden-and-build theory (Fredrickson, 2001) may provide a unified, explanatory framework for examining these pathways.…”

“…This is because meaningfulness acts as a motivational pathway that transforms the value and purpose derived from the work context into a positive and fulfilling personalized experience (Shuck & Rose, 2013). Indeed, evidence has shown that meaningfulness links work contextual perceptions of job enrichment and work role fit with increased engagement (May et al, 2004); however no studies have explored whether this in case for the relationship between personal development and engagement.…”

“…Furthermore, organizations should reflect on how meaningfulness can be promoted within the organization, and how development practices and organizational systems can create meaning and purpose. For example, making explicit connections between an individual's personal development goals and wider values, goals and mission of the organization (Shuck & Rose, 2013); providing developmental opportunities that enable the individual to have contact with, and see the impact of their work, on beneficiaries (Grant, 2007); or promoting developmental goals and opportunities that seek to affirm one's social/professional identities (Kahn & Heaphy, 2014), such as being sponsored by the organisation to undertake a professional accreditation qualification. However, this study highlights how providing development opportunities and creating meaning is not in itself going to lead to meaningfulness nor to engagement.…”

“…Despite contemporary theorizing on engagement positioning meaningfulness as a critical intermediary process that connects perceptions of the wider work context with the experience of engagement (Kahn & Heaphy, 2014), there remains little specific understanding or evidence about how HR practices, such as personal development, may facilitate engagement via meaningfulness. This has been highlighted as an important gap to address as such studies will reveal the psychological processes that underpin HR practices and may help to integrate different theoretical perspectives to advance our understanding of how HRM can facilitate engagement (e.g., Fletcher, 2016;Shuck & Rose, 2013). Third, by examining the role of the line manager as a boundary condition for the effects of personal development this study will shed light on the contextual factors that impact on how engagement is experienced, and will provide a more nuanced understanding of engagement's theoretical foundations, particularly that of social exchange (Blau 1964).…”

The extra mile deconstructed: a critical and discourse perspective on employee engagement and HRD

“…Most writing on EE has concentrated on the performance outcomes and the subsequent organizational benefits of engagement, to the neglect of a focus on the employee experience (Shuck and Rose 2013). Shuck and Rose (2013, 343) argue that the experience of work as meaningful and purpose-driven is necessary to stimulate the 'condition of engagement'.…”