International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

search-icon

An Overview of Employee Engagement and it’s Relationship to Employee Performance: In the Background of Human Resources Development

Open access
Employee engagement is increasingly recognized as a vital factor influencing organizational performance within the realm of human resource development (HRD). This research offers a comprehensive overview of the relationship between employee engagement and employee performance within the context of HRD. Drawing upon theoretical frameworks, empirical research, and practical insights, the study examines the conceptual underpinnings of employee engagement. The study synthesizes existing research, highlighting the significance of employee engagement as a predictor of individual and organizational performance. It elucidates how engaged employees demonstrate higher levels of performance from various dimensions such as task performance, job satisfaction, organizational citizenship behavior, and innovative work behavio. The discussion delves into the implications for HRD practices, emphasizing the strategic importance of prioritizing employee engagement initiatives. By fostering a culture of engagement, implementing effective training and development programs, and providing opportunities for career growth and recognition, organizations can enhance employee motivation, job satisfaction, and overall performance. The findings underscore the need for HRD practitioners and organizational leaders to champion employee engagement as a strategic imperative. By investing in human capital development, organizations can optimize performance outcomes, drive organizational success, and gain a competitive edge in today's dynamic business environment. The research concludes with recommendations for future research, including longitudinal studies, objective measures of performance, and investigations into contextual factors influencing the engagement-performance relationship. By advancing our understanding of how employee engagement impacts employee performance within the framework of HRD, this study contributes to the broader discourse on organizational effectiveness and human capital management.
Alagaraja, M., & Shuck, B. (2015). Exploring Organizational Alignment-Employee Engagement Linkages and Impact on Individual Performance: A Conceptual Model. Human Resource Development Review, 14(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/1534484314549455
AON Hewitt. (2018). 2018 Trends in Global Employee Engagement: Global Employee Engagement Rebounds to Match Its All-Time High, 1–19. Retrieved from
https://de.statista.com/statistik/studie/id/52986/dokument/studie-zur-mitarbeitermotivation-weltweit-2018/
Bakker, A. B., & Albrecht, S. L. (2018). Work engagement: Current trends. In S. L. Albrecht (Ed.), Handbook of Employee Engagement: Perspectives, Issues, Research, and Practice (pp. 7-17). Edward Elgar Publishing.
Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2017). Job demands–resources theory: Taking stock and looking forward. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 22(3), 273-285.
Bion, W. R. (1961). Experiences in groups. New York: Basic Books.
Buckingham, M., & Coffman, C. (1999). First, break all the rules. New York: Simon Schuster.
Christian, M., Garza, A., & Slaughter, J. (2011). Work Engagement: A Quantitative Review and Test of its Relations with Task and Contextual Performance. Personnel Psychology, 64, 89–136.
Cooper-Thomas, H. D., Xu, J., & M. Saks, A. (2018). The differential value of resources in predicting employee engagement. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 33(4–5).
https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-12-2017-0449
Freud, S. (1922). Group psychology and the analysis of the ego. London: Psychoanalystic Press.
Guest, D. E. (2017). Human resource management and employee engagement. In The Routledge Companion to Employee Engagement (pp. 131-144). Routledge.
Harter, J. K., Schmidt, F. L., & Hayes, T. L. (2002). Business-unit-level relationship between employee satisfaction, employee engagement, and business outcomes: A meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(2), 268-279.
Jeung, C.-W. (2011). The concept of employee engagement: A comprehensive review from a positive organizational behavior perspective. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 24, 49–69.
Kahn, W. A. (1990). Psychological conditions of personal engagement and disengagement at work. Academy of Management Journal, 33(4), 692-724.
Macey, W. H., & Schneider, B. (2008). The meaning of employee engagement. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 1(1), 3-30.
May, D. R., Gilson, R. L., & Harter, L. M. (2004c). The psychological conditions of meaningfulness, safety, and availability and the engagement of the human spirit at work. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 77(8), 11–37.
Mann, A., & Harter, J. (2016). The worldwide employee engagement crisis. Retrieved from
http://www.gallup.com/businessjournal/188033/worldwide-employee-engagementcrisis.aspx?g_source=BusinessJournal&g_medium=CardRelatedItems&g_campaign=tilesCardRelatedItems&g_campaign=tiles
Maslach, C., & Leiter, M. P. (1997). The truth about burnout: How organizations cause personal stress and what to do about it. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
Noe, R. A., Hollenbeck, J. R., Gerhart, B., & Wright, P. M. (2017). Human Resource Management: Gaining a Competitive Advantage. McGraw-Hill Education.
Nwinyokpugi, P. N. (2015). Employee Engagement and Workplace Harmony in Nigeria Civil Service Abstract?:, 4(2), 199–204.
Rich, B. L., Lepine, J. A., & Crawford, E. R. (2010). Job engagement: antecedents and effects on job performance. Academy of Management Journal, 53(3), 617–635.
Saks, A. M., & Ashforth, B. E. (1997). A longitudinal investigation of the relationships between job information sources, applicant perceptions of fit, and work outcomes. Personnel Psychology, 50, 395–426.
Saks, A. M. (2006). Antecedents and consequence of work engagement. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 21(7), 600–619. https://doi.org/10.1108/02683940610690169
Saks, A. M. (2017). Translating Employee Engagement Research into Practice. Organizational Dynamics, 46(2), 76–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.orgdyn.2017.04.003
Saks, A. M. (2019). Antecedents and consequences of employee engagement revisited. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness, 6(1), 19–38. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOEPP-06-2018-0034

Saks, A. M. (2020). Employee engagement revisited. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 7(1), 77-95.
Schaufeli, W. B., Salanova, M., González-Romá, V., & Bakker, A. B. (2002). The measurement of engagement and burnout: A two sample confirmatory factor analytic approach. Journal of Happiness Studies, 3(1), 71-92.
Slater, P. E. (1966b). Microcosms: Structural, psychological, and religious evolution in groups. New York: Wiley.
Shuck, B., & Wollard, K. (2010). Employee engagement and HRD: A seminal review of the foundations. Human Resource Development Review, 9(1), 89–110. https://doi.org/10.1177/1534484309353560
Smith, K. K., & Berg, D. N. (1987). Paradoxes of group life. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Tansley, C., & Newell, S. (2007). HRM and the search for the lost art of management: The missing link between HRM goals and employee performance. Human Resource Management Journal, 17(1), 3-17.
Towers Perrin. (2009). Closing the Engagement Gap: A Road Map for Driving Superior Business Performance, 32.
The Economist. (2015). Comments on Performance-related pay | The Economist. Retrieved August 9, 2019, from https://www.economist.com/node/14301231/comments
Wollard, K. K., & Shuck, B. (2011). Antecedents to employee engagement: A structured review of the literature. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 13(4), 429–446. https://doi.org/10.1177/1523422311431220