To engage or not? Antecedents of employee engagement in Sri Lanka

Abstract

This study integrates the resource demand and social exchange perspectives and assesses if employer brand, organizational politics, self-efficacy, and family-work conflict predict employee engagement. Furthermore, this paper examines the impact of boundary conditions of employee engagement by focusing on exchange ideology and gender. Data were collected using questionnaires from 411 managerial employees working in licensed commercial banks in Sri Lanka. The results revealed that employer brand, perceived organizational politics, and self-efficacy were significantly related to employee engagement. The results, however, did not support the negative relationship between family-work conflict and employee engagement or the moderating effect of gender on the relationship between family-work conflict and employee engagement. But, exchange ideology moderated the relationship between employer brand and employee engagement albeit contrary to the hypothesized directions. The implications of this research, possible limitations and directions for future research are also discussed.

I'll manage myself: the moderator effect of positive framing on the relationship between organisational politics and engagement

“…The results demonstrated that perceived organisational politics negatively influences engagement as expected. This finding is consistent with previous studies in politics and engagement relationship (Byrne et al , 2017; Karatepe, 2013; Mayuran and Kailasapathy, 2020). While challenging demands foster the work engagement, hindrance demands obstruct it (Crawford et al , 2010).…”

“…Along with previous studies (Crawford et al , 2010; Mayuran and Kailasapathy 2020), the current study is showing that organisational politics, as a hindrance demand, reduces engagement. Therefore, this study also suggests that organisational politics could be considered as an organisational-level demand in the JD-R model (Landells and Albrecht, 2019).…”

Job Crafting and Burnout as Predictors of Food Safety Behaviors in the Foodservice Industry

“…According to Baker et al, burnout develops in a scenario where there is an imbalance between demands and resources at work [ 34 ]. On the other hand, work engagement is decreased by burnout [ 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 ] and increased by resources [ 42 , 43 , 44 ]. Our results are consistent with the extensive literature in the field and support the application of the JD-R model in the foodservice context.…”

“…A resource decline affects both burnout and work engagement [ 41 ]. Over time, studies have confirmed the importance of resources in increasing work engagement [ 42 , 43 , 44 ]. Thus, work engagement is reduced when the worker has access to fewer and fewer resources.…”

Impact of digital transformation on employee engagement at Ceylon Electricity Board in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka

“…Hence, this finding emphasizes the need for examining the antecedents of employee engagement in the Sri Lankan context. In the study conducted by Mayuran and Kailasapathy (2020) among the managerial level employees from licensed commercial banks in Sri Lanka, the antecedents of employee engagement were examined. The study revealed that employer brand, perceived organizational politics, and self-efficacy were significantly related to employee engagement.…”