Employee Engagement Essay

Title

Do employees care about corporate responsibility and ethical behavior? Reviewing the impact of an organization’s perceived corporate responsibility and ethical behavior on employee engagement

Employee engagement is shaped by many internal and external variables. Basic needs such as fair pay and safe working conditions were primary considerations in the late 1800s. Early theorists focused primarily on the individual and theories and research centered on individual motivation and outcomes. Significant work was spent on reshaping tasks to improve productivity and output. As safe working conditions and fair pay became commonplace, different variables such as job enrichment and personal growth became important for individual workers.

Within the academic literature, several definitions of employee engagement have emerged. Kahn defined personal engagement as the “harnessing of organization members’ selves to their work roles; in engagement, people employ and express themselves physically cognitively, or emotionally during role performances” (Kahn, 1990, p. 694). Kahn further defined personal disengagement as the “uncoupling of selves from work roles; in disengagement, people withdraw and defend themselves physically, cognitively, or emotionally during role performances.” (Kahn, 1990, p. 694).

Kahn (1990) believes engagement means to be psychologically present when performing an organizational role and it is shown physically, cognitively and emotionally as part of the role performance. He believes that individuals who are engaged keep themselves and their role aligned and it is demonstrated by:

Personally engaging behaviors simultaneously convey and bring alive self and obligatory role. People become physically involved in tasks, whether alone or with others, cognitively vigilant , and empathically display what they think and feel, their creativity, their beliefs and values, and their personal connections to others (Kahn, 1990,

Aon Hewitt (2014) defines engagement as the psychological state and behavioral outcomes that lead to better performance. Aon Hewitt (2014) further defined engaged employees as employees who speak positively about the organization to coworkers, potential employees and customers, who have an deep sense of belonging and desire to be a part of the organization; and who continually demonstrate motivation and effort toward success in one’s job and for the company. Gallup (2013) believes that engaged employees have “well defined roles in the organization, make strong contributions, are actively connected to the larger team and organization, and are continuously progressing