Abstract
The objective of this study was to investigate the antecedents of work engagement. Stratified random samples (N=171) were taken of employees in a multinational oil company. The Work Engagement Scale and the Work Experiences Scale were administered. The results confirmed that psychological meaningfulness and psychological availability were significant predictors of work engagement. Psychological meaningfulness displayed the strongest positive relationship with engagement. The relationship of co-worker relations and work role fit with work engagement was mediated by the psychological condition of meaningfulness. Cognitive, emotional and physical resources had the strongest effect on psychological availability. Co-worker relations and co-worker norms predicted psychological safety. The relationship between resources and work engagement was mediated by the psychological condition of availability.
Highlights
The workplace has changed over the past decade and most organisations have to survive in a competitive global economy
The objective of this study was to investigate the antecedents of work engagement
The results of this study confirmed that two psychological conditions, i.e. meaningfulness and availability mediated the relationship between antecedent conditions and work engagement
Summary
The workplace has changed over the past decade and most organisations have to survive in a competitive global economy. According to Kahn (1990), work engagement involves the expression of the self through work and other employee-role activities. According to Brown (1996), research on job involvement has neglected to examine the role of psychological conditions identified by Kahn (1990) and May et al (2004) They stated that engagement is different from job involvement in that it is concerned more with how the individual employs him-/herself during the performance of his/her job. According to Kahn (1990, p. 700), work engagement entails “the simultaneous employment and expression of a person’s ‘preferred self’ in task behaviours that promote connections to work and to others.” In contrast, disengaged employees become disconnected from their jobs and hide their true identity, thoughts and feelings during role performances
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