Alan M. Saks and Jamie A. Gruman
Although work engagement has become an important topic in management, relatively little attention has been given to newcomers’ work engagement in the socialization literature. The…
Abstract
Purpose
Although work engagement has become an important topic in management, relatively little attention has been given to newcomers’ work engagement in the socialization literature. The purpose of this paper is to explain how newcomers’ work engagement can fluctuate during the first year of organizational entry and the role of organizational socialization in developing and maintaining high levels of newcomers’ work engagement.
Design/methodology/approach
A review of the socialization literature indicates that uncertainty reduction theory has been the basis of research on socialization tactics and newcomer information-seeking both of which function by providing newcomers with information to reduce uncertainty. Socialization resources theory is used to develop a new pathway to newcomer socialization which focuses on providing newcomers with resources during the first year of organizational entry and socialization.
Findings
The uncertainty reduction pathway to newcomer socialization is narrow and limited because it primarily focuses on minimizing and reducing the negative effects of job demands rather than on providing newcomers with resources that are necessary to facilitate work engagement and socialization.
Practical implications
Organizations can use newcomers’ work engagement maintenance curves to map and track fluctuations in newcomers’ work engagement during the first year of organizational entry and they can conduct an audit of socialization resources to determine what resources are required to develop and maintain high levels of newcomers’ work engagement.
Originality/value
This paper describes newcomer work engagement maintenance curves and explains how socialization resources can be used to develop and maintain high levels of newcomers’ work engagement. A model of a new pathway to newcomer socialization is developed in which socialization resources, personal resources, and job demands influence newcomers’ work engagement and socialization outcomes.
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Alan M. Saks, Jamie A. Gruman and Qian Zhang
Employee engagement has received a considerable amount of research attention over the last decade. However, most of the research has been on job or work engagement. Much less…
Abstract
Purpose
Employee engagement has received a considerable amount of research attention over the last decade. However, most of the research has been on job or work engagement. Much less attention has been given to organization engagement, which is a distinct but related target of employee engagement. In this paper, we review the research on organization engagement and identify how it has been measured, its antecedents and consequences and how it compares to job engagement.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper provides a narrative review of 40 studies that have measured organization engagement. Most of these studies have been published in the last five years, and they come from 20 different countries. The majority of studies also measured job or work engagement.
Findings
Most studies used Saks' (2006) measure of organization engagement. Many antecedents have been found to be related to organization engagement; however, those most often studied and consistently related to organization engagement are organizational-related resources such as perceived organizational support (POS), justice perceptions, corporate social responsibility (CSR), organizational structural factors, organizational climate and HR practices. Organization engagement has been found to be positively related to job satisfaction, organizational commitment, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), job performance and organizational performance and negatively related to intention to quit. Organization engagement has also been found to partially or fully mediate the relationship between antecedents and consequences. In comparison to job engagement, organization engagement scores tend to be lower, and there are meaningful differences in the antecedents and consequences of organization engagement and job engagement. A number of studies found that organization engagement was more strongly related to several of the consequences than job engagement.
Practical implications
The results of this review indicate that organization engagement is as important if not more important than job engagement when it comes to its relationship to some of the consequences of employee engagement. Organizations should include a measure of organization engagement in employee surveys and focus on improving organization engagement by providing a supportive work environment, ensuring that employees have positive perceptions of justice, increasing CSR initiatives, providing a variety of human resources (HR) practices and improving organizational climate.
Originality/value
This paper provides the first comprehensive review of research on organization engagement and offers a new model of the antecedents and consequences of organization engagement and compares organization engagement to job engagement.
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Simon L Albrecht, Arnold B Bakker, Jamie A Gruman, William H Macey and Alan M Saks
The purpose of this paper is to argue in support of a model that shows how four key HRM practices focused on engagement influence organizational climate, job demands and job…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to argue in support of a model that shows how four key HRM practices focused on engagement influence organizational climate, job demands and job resources, the psychological experiences of safety, meaningfulness and availability at work, employee engagement, and individual, group and organizational performance and competitive advantage.
Design/methodology/approach
This conceptual review focuses on the research evidence showing interrelationships between organizational context factors, job factors, individual employee psychological and motivational factors, employee outcomes, organizational outcomes and competitive advantage. The proposed model integrates frameworks that have previously run independently in the HR and engagement literatures.
Findings
The authors conclude that HRM practitioners need to move beyond the routine administration of annual engagement surveys and need to embed engagement in HRM policies and practices such personnel selection, socialization, performance management, and training and development.
Practical implications
The authors offer organizations clear guidelines for how HR practices (i.e. selection, socialization, performance management, training) can be used to facilitate and improve employee engagement and result in positive outcomes that will help organizations achieve a competitive advantage.
Originality/value
The authors provide useful new insights for researchers and management professionals wishing to embed engagement within the fabric of HRM policies and practices and employee behaviour, and organizational outcomes.
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The purpose of this paper is to consider the potential effects of organizational socialization on organizational-level outcomes and to demonstrate that organizational…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to consider the potential effects of organizational socialization on organizational-level outcomes and to demonstrate that organizational socialization is an important human resource (HR) practice that should be included in research on strategic human resource management (SHRM) and should be part of a high-performance work system (HPWS).
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reviews the research on SHRM and applies SHRM theory and the ability-motivation-opportunity model to explain how organizational socialization can influence organizational outcomes. The implications of psychological resource theories for newcomer adjustment and socialization are described and socialization resources theory is used to explain how organizational socialization can influence different indicators of newcomer adjustment.
Findings
An integration of SHRM theory and organizational socialization research indicates that organizational socialization can influence organizational outcomes (operational and financial) through newcomer adjustment (human capital, motivation, social capital, and psychological capital variables) and traditional socialization/HR outcomes such as job satisfaction, organizational commitment, job performance and reduced turnover.
Practical implications
In this paper the authors describe the socialization resources that organizations can use to facilitate newcomer adjustment to achieve newcomer and organizational outcomes.
Originality/value
This is one of the first papers to integrate the organizational socialization literature with SHRM theory and to explain how organizational socialization can influence organizational outcomes.
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Jamie A. Gruman and Alan M. Saks
From the start, organizational socialization has been all about learning. In fact, most definitions of organizational socialization are very explicit about this and the general…
Abstract
From the start, organizational socialization has been all about learning. In fact, most definitions of organizational socialization are very explicit about this and the general notion that socialization involves learning “the ropes” of a particular organizational role (Fisher, 1986). Socialization has been described as a sense-making and learning process in which newcomers acquire a variety of types of information and knowledge to become effective members of the organization (Klein & Weaver, 2000).
Alan M. Saks and Jamie A. Gruman
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between socialization tactics and newcomer engagement and the mediating role of person‐job (PJ) and person‐organization…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between socialization tactics and newcomer engagement and the mediating role of person‐job (PJ) and person‐organization (PO) fit perceptions, emotions, and self‐efficacy.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was completed by 140 co‐op university students at the end of their work term.
Findings
Institutionalized socialization tactics were positively related to PJ and PO fit perceptions, emotions and self‐efficacy, but not newcomer engagement. Socialization tactics were indirectly related to newcomer engagement through PJ fit perceptions, emotions, and self‐efficacy.
Research limitations/implications
Socialization tactics might be too broad and general to predict newcomer engagement. Future research should measure more specific socialization practices and job resources.
Practical implications
Organizations that want to engage new hires should use social socialization tactics to create positive emotions, develop higher PJ fit perceptions, and strengthen newcomers' self‐efficacy beliefs.
Social implications
Organizations can contribute to the well being of individuals and society by designing socialization programs that will engage new hires.
Originality/value
This is the first study to examine relationships between socialization tactics and newcomer engagement and to study engagement as a socialization outcome.
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Simon L. Albrecht is a registered psychologist and has a PhD and a master’s degree in Organizational Psychology. Simon’s PhD focused on identifying the dimensions, antecedents…
Abstract
Simon L. Albrecht is a registered psychologist and has a PhD and a master’s degree in Organizational Psychology. Simon’s PhD focused on identifying the dimensions, antecedents, and consequences of organizational trust. Simon is a Senior Lecturer within the Organizational Psychology program at Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia. Teaching, research, and practice interests are in the areas of work engagement, organizational development and change, leadership development, culture and climate, and organizational politics. Simon has published in numerous international journals, has numerous book chapters in print, and has presented at international conferences. In addition to his academic and research interests Simon also has considerable consultancy experience. He has previously been a director of a human resource consultancy engaged in delivering a broad range of organizational development activities and programs.
This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.
Design/methodology/approach
This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.
Findings
A review of 40 studies showed organization engagement was related to a variety of antecedents, especially organizational-related antecedents, as well as many of the same consequences that are related to job engagement. These included job satisfaction, organizational commitment, intention to quit, OCB, job performance and organizational performance
Originality/value
The briefing saves busy executives, strategists and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.
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Brad J. Kovaleski and Vishal Arghode
The purpose of this paper is to study employee engagement in higher education by examining full-time non-tenure track faculty members’ perceptions at a North East US state public…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study employee engagement in higher education by examining full-time non-tenure track faculty members’ perceptions at a North East US state public university.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used semi-structured face-to-face personal interviews with 11 non-tenure track full-time university faculty. Using a phenomenological approach, thematic analysis was conducted for employee interview data. The data was further refined through first and second cycle coding. The primary eight coded clusters were further reduced to three data clusters, each representing an evolving unit of meaning.
Findings
The analysis revealed three themes relating to how full-time non-tenure track faculty experience and understand engagement: required institutional engagement, perceived necessary engagement and relational collegial engagement.
Originality/value
The study adds to the limited research available on non-tenure track faculty members within higher education organization and their perceptions of engagement.