Distinct researchers propose different definitions of employee involvement, and those definitions may change. The first concept of employee engagement was offered by Kahn, who stated that employee engagement stands for the ability of the organization members to express themselves in different ways, such as physical, cognitive, and emotional self-expression, in their workplace.
After Kahn had provided the concept, various interpretations of its definitions started to occur. Bakker defined the concept of engagement as an active emotional state that is expressed by energy and involvement. May et al. stated that the concept is associated with cognition and, most importantly, emotions and behavior management.
Employee engagement, according to Cha, is dependent on the employee’s involvement and activeness, as well as their emotional and psychological health. Saks proposed that employee engagement consists of knowledge, behavior, and emotion. Despite there being numerous definitions of the term, they all suggest that employee engagement refers to cognitive, emotional, and behavioral characteristics.
Employee engagement is a wide-ranging concept, and it consists of different dimensions. According to Soane et al., there are three requirements for employee engagement, which are activation, positive energy, and focus on a work role. Employee engagement is divided into four dimensions, according to Xu et al.: attitude towards work, state of mental health, high level of responsibility, and the identity associated with the organization.
Xiao and Duan divided employee engagement differently and stated that there are such dimensions as loyalty, commitment, identity, effectiveness, and initiative. There are five dimensions of employee engagement, according to Liu: dedication, vigor, organizational identity, pleasant harmony, and absorption.
As can be seen, different scholars have provided several possible divisions of employee engagement; however, they intersect at the point that employee engagement includes commitment, loyalty, and organizational identity.
In order to maintain constant employee engagement, it is critical to ensure that employees understand the importance of dedication, loyalty, commitment, and enthusiasm in the workplace. Moreover, the contribution of positive energy is foremost for the effective engagement process.