The Influence of Employee Engagement on Job Performance - Essay Example

The Influence of Employee Engagement on Job Performance Name University Introduction Job performance has been defined by various scholars as a concept referring to the assessment of how well an individual performs a given job. For over the past two decades, this concept has received considerable attention from scholars and thus, it has been considered to be multidimensional in nature (Imran et al, 2014). The multidimensional nature indicates that it can refer to the process aspect whereby the employee demonstrates a certain behavior while at work like sales conversations. The other aspect of the terminology is the outcome aspect which can be quantified in terms of the results from performing the job like the selling numbers in a business. Since the two aspects are related, it can then be concluded that the behaviors and the outcome are what builds up the efficiency and effectiveness and the success in the job performance of an employee (Chamberlin et al, 2015). The other conceptualization as proposed by of the terminology can be viewed as an embodiment of both task performances whereby this points at the activities that directly support the technical processes of the organization and contextual performance which points at the individual effort that are indirectly related to the performance of the task (Zhong et al, 2015). Relying on the discussion demonstrated in this paper, these definitions will be harmonized to realize a single definition that the job performance is used to refer to the behaviors demonstrated by the employee to realize such outcomes as efficiency and effectiveness as improvement of job performance (Bin, 2015). This retrospect paper seeks to discuss the influence employee engagement has on the improvement in job performance through analyzing the literature reviews from different scholars and application of a theoretical framework. Literature review From the vast body of literature reviews exiting up to date, it has been established that here is no a universally accepted definition and single conceptualization of the term employee engagement (Bhuvanaiah and Raya, 2014). However, there are three renown research organizations among other individuals have attempted different definitions for the term as indicated in the conceptualizations below. From Gallup organization, the term has been defined as one’s involved with work and enthusiasm for work (Anitha, 2014). From this conceptualization, it can be noted that this term is likened to the positive emotional attachment and commitment to the work by the employee. Perrin’s Global Workforce Study presents the terminology as the willingness and the ability of the employee in helping the companies of organizations they work for to succeed through provision of discreet and sustainable effort (Bal and De Lange, 2015). From this perspective, it can be understood that the engagement involves rational and emotional factors which are related to work and the experience that comes with it (Anitha, 2014). Institute of Employment Studies indicated that the term could be used to refer to the positive attitudes an employee may hold in regard to a company or an organization and the values associated with it (Anitha, 2014). The definition further pointed out that the engagement of the employee determines how the employee will consider the context in which the business exists, and connect with the colleagues for the improvement of the organization (Bal and De Lange, 2015). Basing on the definitions by the three organization, Anitha, 2014 indicates that it can be deduced that the employee engagement has its fundamental parts in emotions and willingness by an employee. As such, these definitions are in line with the conceptualization of the term as discussed in this paper which posits that the employee engagement refers to the commitment and passion by an employee which drives one to be willing to input discretionary effort into the work in order to ensure that the employer succeeds (Albdour and Altarawneh, 2014). Theoretical framework According to Albdour and Altarawneh, 2014, the employee engagement has been known to impact on the job performance of an employee in various ways. For instance, an employee committee to performing a certain duty with the purpose of satisfying the various needs as physical, emotional and cognitive values will most certainly perform the duty with efficiency and effectiveness. Since the employees in almost every organization are driven by these engagements, various psychological domains arise in the situation. These include meaningfulness, safety and availability (Otieno et al, 2015). According to personal engagement theory as proposed by Khan in the Khan’s Need Satisfying Approach, employees perform the duties to satisfy the aforementioned needs. For instance, the three domains determine how an employee perceive and perform the roles assigned to them at the workplace (Bal and De Lange, 2015). As such, one performs the job better when they feel useful and valuable and thus consider their work as important which drives the employee to input all the efforts to the performance of a given task without withholding (Bin, 2015). This is similar to the safety associated with the consistency and predictability in the work environment of an employee which drives the employee to be more engaged in their task performance without being afraid of negative perception of their self-image and the possibility to lose their status or career (Bhuvanaiah and Raya, 2014). Furthermore, the availability domain regulates how the employee will possess the recourses which are essential in performing tasks without being faced with distractions (Bhuvanaiah and Raya, 2014). Relationship between employee engagement and job performance Research that found the relationship significant Research that found the relationship non-significant The literature review by Otieno et al, 2015 indicated that the employee engagement of the employees in the horticultural sector in Kenya was high in regard to how they were committed to performing their duties and their productivity level. The research involved 2460 employees whereby 76.7% of these respondents indicated that the engagement at their work was the driving force to their better performance of the job. This is further backed up by the studies conducted by Albdour and Altarawneh, 2014, who conducted the study in Jordan. From their perspective, it was established that the personal engagement for individual employees meant that they would be intrinsically motivated to perform their duties on time and effectively (Bal and De Lange, 2015). Furthermore, Anitha, 2014, noted that 72% of the employees were intrinsically motivated to perform their duties effectively as a result of the organization providing an enabling leadership environment in which the employees felt appreciated and their duties valued. According to the research by Bhuvanaiah and Raya, 2014, it was indicated that 60% of the employees that participated in the study wanted opportunities to be useful to the organizations they worked for them to portray their full potential and abilities for the sake of the employer’s success (Zhong et al, 2015). Berry and Morris, (cited in Crawford et al, 2014), points out that the employee engagement was not entirely responsible for determining how the employees performed their duties at the workplace. Their study revealed that it was possible for organizations to succeed without the employees being totally engaged in their job. For instance, they revealed that the research having used a sample of 40,000 employees, only 17% were totally engaged in their work with about 64% of the employees being moderately engaged and 19% were disengaged (Crawford et al, 2014). With these statistics from both united states of America and Canada, the organizations these employees worked for were still successful and therefore they disregarded the possibility for the employee engagement being the fundamental aspect of the job performance. This argument is further asserted to by Bin, 2015, who notes that the intent for job satisfaction facilitates the job performance of an employee and therefore job performance is not contingent on employee engagement. However, Berry and Morris, 2008, point out that the desire for the employees to stay in the organization motivates them to perform their job well and facilitate the success of the organization. This is seen in the manner that the employees say positive things about the employer and exert discreet efforts in their serving of the employer for the wellbeing of the organization (Bin, 2015). Basing on the statistics pointed out by the various researchers as noted in the table above, it can be noted that most of the studies conducted point out that the employee engagement is crucial on the job performance in various aspects (Anitha, 2014). For example, the engagement of the employee in terms of safety and availability determines such outcomes as customer satisfaction, productivity and profits for the organization. This can therefore be attributed to the fact that the magnitude to which the organization makes profits due to increased productivity of the employees besides customer satisfaction which dictates the level of customer loyalty. These outcomes are the indicators of the increased job performance (Alessandri et al, 2015). In addition, Bhuvanaiah and Raya, 2014, also note that engaged employees perceive their meaningfulness in their work when they realize that their performance of their tasks is beneficial to the overall performance of the organization. This indicates that the engagement influences the quality of the work performed by the employee to realize increased productivity at the company. This is further backed up by the research by the Institute for Employment Studies where they provided the various characteristics demonstrated by the engaged employees in relation to job performance (Chamberlin et al, 2015). These characteristics include one identifying with the organization, treating colleagues with respect, perception of the tasks under the big picture even though it may be at a personal expense and looking for opportunities that can be utilized to increase the performance of the organization (Zhong et al, 2015). Furthermore, from the literature reviews conducted by the researchers, it can be deduced that the engaged employees performed their tasks and advocated for the organization they worked for in a number of ways with an intent to promote the success of the employer (Imran et al, 2014). In a discussion by Bal and De Lange, 2015, one of these ways is through promoting the organization by recommending their organization which happens to be their employer to be the best place for other people to work besides presenting the products as the best in the market. Secondly, the willingness to recommend the organization’s products and services saves the company expenditure that could be used in marketing and awareness of the organization (Bal and De Lange, 2015). Proposition Basing on the theory of personal engagement as proposed by Khan and the analysis of the literature review from the various researchers, it can be proposed that employee engagement facilitates improvement in job performance of the employees in an organization than individuals working as independent entities in the society. Conclusion Conclusively, relying on the literature review conducted by Alessandri et al, 2015, it can be recommended that employers should focus on creating enabling environment for the employees to demonstrate their full potential for the success of the origination. This includes providing incentives in form of compliments and welcoming ideas from the employees and using them for decision making in order to boost the morale of the employees (Albdour and Altarawneh, 2014). This will facilitate the employee feeling emotionally positive towards the job and consequently developing healthy connections that are motivated intrinsically. Furthermore, Albdour and Altarawneh, 2014 proposes that the employers should take advantage of the engagement and utilize it under engagement transfer to other colleagues in the same organization. This involves transfer of positive emotions from one employee to the next for the sake of improving the performance of the organization. For instance, the engaged employees demonstrate satisfaction and positive mood while performing their duties and therefore this can be transferred to the other colleagues and increase coordination during the performance of the task and consequently efficiency and effectiveness in completion of the task (Bhuvanaiah and Raya, 2014). In addition, the team work engagement will help shape the individual performance where the engaged individuals will facilitate to the spread of optimism which results into creation of a positive team environment (Crawford et al, 2014). References Albdour, A. A., & Altarawneh, I. I. (2014). Employee engagement and organizational commitment: Evidence from Jordan. International Journal of Business, 19(2), 192. Alessandri, G., Borgogni, L., Schaufeli, W. B., Caprara, G. V., & Consiglio, C. (2015). From positive orientation to job performance: The role of work engagement and self-efficacy beliefs. Journal of Happiness Studies, 16(3), 767-788. Anitha, J. (2014). Determinants of employee engagement and their impact on employee performance. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management. Bal, P. M., & De Lange, A. H. (2015). From flexibility human resource management to employee engagement and perceived job performance across the lifespan: A multisample study. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 88(1), 126-154. Bhuvanaiah, T., & Raya, R. P. (2014). Employee engagement: key to organizational success. SCMS Journal of Indian Management, 11(4), 61. Bin, A. S. (2015). The relationship between job satisfaction, job performance and employee engagement: An explorative study. Chamberlin, M., Newton, D., & LePine, J. (2015, January). Empowerment and Voice as Transmitters of High-Performance Managerial Practices to Job Performance. In Academy of Management Proceedings (Vol. 2015, No. 1, p. 14698). Academy of Management. Crawford, E. R., Rich, B. L., Buckman, B., & Bergeron, J. (2014). 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