PREDICTORS OF EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT IN MALAYSIA, AND THE MODERATING EFFECTS OF JOB DEMANDS AND TOTAL REWARD
Main Article Content
Abstract
As reported by Aon Hewitt in 2015 and 2017, there are still a lot of countries, including Malaysia, that recorded the employee engagement score below the global average value of 65%. Malaysia’s employee engagement score values were recorded at 61% and 59% for years 2015 and 2017, respectively. Low quality condition of new vehicles produced by Malaysia’s national automotive manufacturing companies is potentially caused by non-engaged employees. In academic literature, Job Demand-resource (JD-R) is the most widely used theory in employee engagement study. However, there are still a few gaps associated with the theory (i.e., inconsistence finding). In addressing the research gaps, this present study aims to examine whether job-related variables (i.e., job characteristics and job demands), personal-related variable (i.e., positive psychological capital), and environmental-organisational related variable (i.e., total reward) influence employee engagement. The relationships among the variables were explained using two selected theories, namely the JD-R theory, and Self Determination theory. This study makes several significant contributions to practitioners and theories especially on the employee engagement context. Generally, findings from the study significantly contributed knowledge to practitioners especially from Malaysia’s national automotive manufacturing companies on the major factors influencing employee engagement for them to understand, describe, and explain. In addition, for the theories, the study added to the general body of knowledge and current research work on the effects of job-related variables (i.e., job characteristics and job demands), personal-related variable (i.e., positive psychological capital), and organisational-environmental related variable (i.e., total reward) on employee engagement.
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
Abdul Rahim, M., & Wan Daud, W. (2012). A proposed conceptual framework for rewards and motivation among administrators of higher educational provider in Malaysia. International Journal of Business and Commerce, 1(9), 67–78.
Ahlowalia, S., Tiwary, D., & Jha, A. (2014). Employee engagement: A structured theoretical review. International Journal of Business and Management, 2(6), 309–317.
Aon Hewitt. (2015). 2015 trends in global employee engagement: Making engagement happen. New York: Aon Plc.
Aon Hewitt. (2017). 2017 trends in global employee engagement: Global anxiety erodes employee engagement gains. New York: Aon Plc.
Aon Hewitt. (2017). 2017 employee engagement trends: Malaysia scores fall for the first time in 4 years. AonHewitt.com. Retrieved 10 January 2017 from http://www.AonHewitt.com.
Armstrong, M. (2013). Armstrong’s handbook of human resource management practice (13th ed.). London: KoganPage.
Bakker, A. (2015). APA handbook of career intervention. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Bakker, A., & Demerouti, E. (2007). The Job Demands-Resources model: State of the art. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 22(3), 309–328. https://doi.org/10.1108/02683940710733115
Bakker, A., & Demerouti, E. (2014). Work and wellbeing. Wellbeing: A complete reference guide, vol. III. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Bakker, A., Schaufeli, W., & Hox, J. (2009). Present but sick: A three-wave study on job demands, presenteeism and burnout. Career Development International, 14(1), 50–68. https://doi.org/10.1108/13620430910933574
Baron, R., & Kenny, D. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(6), 1173–1182.
Demerouti, E., & Bakker, A. (2011). The Job Demands-Resources model: Challenges for future research. Journal of Industrial Psychology, 37(2), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajip.v37i2.974
Elst, T., Cavents, C., Daneels, K., Johannik, K., Baillien, E., Broeck, A., & Godderis, L. (2016). Job demands-resources predicting burnout and work engagement among Belgian home health care nurses: A cross-sectional study. Nursing Outlook, 64, 542–556. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.outlook.2016.06.004
Gallup. (2017). State of the global workplace: Executive summary. Gallup.com. Retrieved 15 February 2017 from http://www.gallup.com/executivesummary.
Guest, D. (2014). Employee engagement: A sceptical analysis. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 1(2), 141–156. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOEPP-04-2014-0017
Hackman, J., & Oldham, G. (1976). Motivation through the design of work: Test of a theory. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 16, 250–279.
Hambrick, D., Finkelstein, S., & Mooney, A. (2005). Executive job demands: New insights for explaining strategic decisions and leader behaviors. Academy of Management Review, 30(3), 472–491.
Kahn, W. (1990). Psychological conditions of personal engagement and disengagement at work. Academy of Management Journal, 33(4), 692–724.
Luthans, F., & Youssef, C. (2007). Emerging positive organizational behavior. Journal of Management, 33(3), 321–349. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206307300814
Mache, S., Vitzthum, K., Klapp, B., & Danzer, G. (2014). Surgeons’ work engagement: Influencing factors and relations to job and life satisfaction. The Surgeon, 12, 181–190. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surge.2013.11.015
Markos, S., & Sridevi, M. (2010). Employee engagement: The key to improving performance. International Journal of Business and Management, 5(12), 89–96.
Mehta, D., & Mehta, N. (2013). Employee engagement: A literature review. Economia Seria Management, 16(2), 208–215.
National Consumer Complaints Centre (NCCC). (2011). 2011 annual consumer complaints report. Kuala Lumpur: National Consumer Complaints Centre (NCCC). Retrieved 10 January 2017 from http://www.nccc.org.my.
NCCC. (2012–2016). Annual consumer complaints report. Kuala Lumpur: NCCC. Retrieved 10 January 2017 from http://www.nccc.org.my.
Notelaers, G., Veldhoven, M., Witte, H., & Vermunt, J. (2007). Construction and validation of the short inventory to monitor psychosocial hazards. Medecine Du Travail & Ergonomie, XLIV, 10–17.
Peeters, M., Montgomery, A., Bakker, A., & Schaufeli, W. (2005). Balancing work and home: How job and home demands are related to burnout. International Journal of Stress Management, 12(1), 43–61. https://doi.org/10.1037/1072-5245.12.1.43
Ro, H. (2012). Moderator and mediator effects in hospitality research. International Journal of Hospitality Management, 31, 952–961. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2011.11.003
Schaufeli, W. (2012). Work engagement: What do we know and where do we go? Romanian Journal of Applied Psychology, 14(1), 3–10.
Schaufeli, W., & Taris, T. (2014). Bridging occupational, organizational and public health. Amsterdam: Springer Science and Business Media Dordrecht.
Upadyaya, K., Vartiainen, M., & Salmela-Aro, K. (2016). From job demands and resources to work engagement, burnout, life satisfaction, depressive symptoms, and occupational health. Burnout Research, 3, 101–108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.burn.2016.10.001
Wad, P., & Govindaraju, V. (2011). Automotive industry in Malaysia: An assessment of its development. International Journal Automotive Technology and Management, 11(2), 152–171.
Xanthopoulou, D., Bakker, A., Demerouti, E., & Schaufeli, W. (2007). The role of personal resources in the Job Demands-Resources Model. International Journal of Stress Management, 14(2), 121–141. https://doi.org/10.1037/1072-5245.14.2.121
Yanchus, N., Fishman, J., Techlaw, R., & Osatuke, K. (2013). Employee perceptions of job demands and resources and relationship to engagement. Applied Human Resources Management Research, 13, 1–23.
Youssef, C., & Luthans, F. (2007). Positive organizational behavior in the workplace: The impact of hope, optimism, and resilience. Journal of Management, 33(5), 774–800. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206307305562