Measuring and Managing Employee Work Engagement: A Review of the Research and Business Literature

Abstract

High levels of work engagement are when employees are involved with, committed to, enthusiastic, and passionate about their work. This article provides a review of the literature on employee engagement, based on studies from academic and business sources. Areas of focus include defining the concept of employee work engagement, how it is measured, how often it occurs, the costs of disengagement, the business benefits linked to positive engagement, and how workplaces can be changed to encourage engagement. The findings indicate that work engagement can be improved through adopting certain workplace behavioral health practices that address supervisory communication, job design, resource support, working conditions, corporate culture, and leadership style. Also featured are several case studies from employers who measure and use employee engagement data to improve their work culture, retain employees, and increase business financial success. Implications for improving the service of employee assistance and behavioral health providers are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Employee Assistance Programs
• measurement
• organizational change
• work engagement
• workplace culture