Employee engagement is derived from two terms: commitment and organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), both of which have received academic acknowledgment and were investigated by various researchers. Employee involvement is comparable to and has common features with the two notions mentioned above.
Although the concept of engagement appears to overlap with OCB and commitment concepts, Robinson et al. claim that neither adequately reflects two features of engagement: the level of understanding the business-engaged employees possess and the two-way nature. According to Rafferty et al., employee engagement varies from the two prior concepts of commitment and OCB since it clearly indicates that employee engagement is a two-way process between the organization and the individual.
Employee engagement is defined as involvement in and excitement for work. Employee engagement, according to Dernovsek, is defined as a positive emotional attachment and commitment of employees. Employee engagement, according to Robinson et al., is “a positive attitude held by the employee toward the organization and its worth.”
An engaged employee is aware of the company’s surroundings and works with coworkers to improve job performance for the company’s advantage. The company must work to foster and grow employee engagement, which necessitates a two-way connection between the employer and the employee.
Representative engagement is the result of a two-way association between the manager and the worker, emphasizing that both sides have duties. Furthermore, Fernandez distinguishes between job satisfaction, which is a well-known management construct, and employee engagement, arguing that employee engagement and satisfaction are different terms. It is hard for managers to emphasize only job satisfaction in order to maintain employee effectiveness. Thus, the role of employee engagement becomes crucial.
Other scholars suggest that job happiness is a component of engagement; however, it could indicate a transactional connection that stands only for the organization’s most recent round of benefits and bonuses. Engagement is based on the desire of the employee to invest his energy and time in the employer’s success; in other words, it is based on the employee’s passion; this, in turn, is more than the employee’s satisfaction or loyalty.
As a result, the full image of employee engagement is constructed from a high level of job satisfaction and job contribution. Stephen Young, Towers Perrin’sPerrin’s executive director, likewise makes a distinction between employee engagement and job satisfaction, stating that engagement and not the job satisfaction level is able to predict the organizational performance of the employees.
OCB and employee commitment are essential parts of employee engagement and the predictors of it. Employee commitment is represented as an intention to input maximum energy in order for the organization to succeed and have an identity with the organization. OCB refers to employee behavior that is formed at work and is linked to the person’s professional goals. These conceptions are a subset of the larger construct of employee engagement, and it would be incorrect to conflate the two.