Engagement: where has all the 'power' gone?

TY - JOUR

T1 - Engagement: where has all the 'power' gone?

AU - Madden, Adrian

AU - Bailey, Katie

PY - 2017/6/1

Y1 - 2017/6/1

N2 - This article examines power and engagement. Since Kahn first explained engagement as the way people invest themselves in their work roles based on influence and role status, the engagement movement has subsequently experienced particular momentum both in academic and practitioner circles. The extensive body of evidence on engagement suggests that it is linked to a range of organizational outcomes as well as work-related measures of individual wellbeing. However, this evidence draws mainly from concepts and theories grounded in psychology and therefore important issues of context are often neglected. Moreover, the way engagement has been conceptualized reflects a particular gap in relation to the concept of power and tends to gloss over the realities of organizational life. We consider this limitation of the evidence and its implications along with ways in which other approaches to researching engagement might help to create more accurate and authentic accounts of the lived reality of work engagement.

AB - This article examines power and engagement. Since Kahn first explained engagement as the way people invest themselves in their work roles based on influence and role status, the engagement movement has subsequently experienced particular momentum both in academic and practitioner circles. The extensive body of evidence on engagement suggests that it is linked to a range of organizational outcomes as well as work-related measures of individual wellbeing. However, this evidence draws mainly from concepts and theories grounded in psychology and therefore important issues of context are often neglected. Moreover, the way engagement has been conceptualized reflects a particular gap in relation to the concept of power and tends to gloss over the realities of organizational life. We consider this limitation of the evidence and its implications along with ways in which other approaches to researching engagement might help to create more accurate and authentic accounts of the lived reality of work engagement.

U2 - 10.1016/j.orgdyn.2017.04.007

DO - 10.1016/j.orgdyn.2017.04.007

M3 - Article

SN - 0090-2616

VL - 46

SP - 113

EP - 119

JO - ORGANIZATIONAL DYNAMICS

JF - ORGANIZATIONAL DYNAMICS

IS - 2

ER -