Janetius, S.T., Padmanabhan et al. (2016). Engaged Employees in Institutes of Higher Education, International Journal of Advanced Research (IJAR), ISSN: 23205407, 4 (11).
Engaged Employees in Institutes of Higher Education
Dr. Janetius, Prof. Padmanabhan & Dr. Mini TC
Abstract: Employee engagement has become a popular theme amongst Industrial and Organizational Psychologists today due to the global dictum ‘perform or perish’ and the strong competition for projected profits and continued existence among organisations. Employee engagement is a broadly studied concept in the corporate sector and defined elaborately by various authors. Generally, it is defined as the emotional attachment and commitment an employee has got towards his/her job, colleagues and organization that profoundly influences the level of performance, commitment and loyalty. Since the defining concept and parameters used to explain employee engagement purely originate in the industrial sector, the researchers of this study speculate whether or not this concept could be applicable in the educational sector too. This descriptive and exploratory study using employees from educational institutions in and around Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, defines engaged employee as ‘one who is highly resourceful, driven by a pious and holy objective of helping and assisting students in terms of imparting knowledge, development of skills, inculcating values and thus committed to their overall development’. Further, the study also answers the following questions. i) What are the characteristics of engaged employee in institutes of higher education? ii) What are the antecedents of engaged employee in IHE? and iii) What are the managerial factors contribute to employee engagement and disengagement in IHE?
Key words: engaged employee, employee in higher education, employee disengagement, corporate vs. educational culture
___________________________
Conclusion: The study concludes that the concept engaged employee is significantly different from corporate sector. Although various research findings in the corporate sector show that, the employee’s commitment to the organisation is a significant factor in defining employee engagement, in the education sector, commitment to the job and student welfare takes precedence. The findings of the study indicate that only a fraction of employees are committed to the student welfare and thus labelled as an engaged employee. As increased number of educational institutions that run for commercial purposes with economical profit motives, the noble teaching profession has become an easy job-seeking arena for many young graduates thus reducing the quality of commitment and dedication needed for the profession. Various management practises, especially in the self-financing colleges, have becomes a hindrance for many to commit and dedicate themselves for the welfare of the students. Further studies could be done to quantify and validate the identified variables.
References:
Bates, S. (2004). “Getting engaged”, HR Magazine, Vol. 49 No. 2, pp. 44-51.
Bux, S.R. (2011). Whither Job Engagement or Organization Engagement for Job Satisfied and Dedicated employees? International Journal of Contemporary Business Studies, Vol: 2, No: 11. Nov., 2011 ISSN 2156-7506
Harter, J.K., Schmidt, F.L. and Hayes, T.L. (2002).“Business-unit level relationship between employee satisfaction, employee engagement, and business outcomes: a meta-analysis”, Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 87, pp. 268-79.
Herscovitch, L. & Meyer, J. P. (2002). Commitment to Organization Change: Extension of three component model. Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol.87 pp 474-487
Kahn, W.A. (1990).“Psychological conditions of personal engagement and disengagement at work”, Academy of Management Journal, Vol. 33, pp. 692-724.
Maslach, C., Schaufelli, W.B. and Leiter, M.P. (2001). “Job burnout”, Annual Review of Psychology, Vol. 52, pp. 397-422.
May, D.R., Gilson, R.L. and Harter, L.M. (2004). “The psychological conditions of meaningfulness, safety and availability and the engagement of the human spirit at work”, Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology, Vol. 77, pp. 11-37.
Muthuveloo, R. & Rose, R. C. (2005).Typology of Organisational Commitment. American Journal of Applied Science 2 (6) 1078-1081
Robinson, D., Perryman, S. and Hayday, S. (2004). The Drivers of Employee Engagement, Institute for Employment Studies, Brighton.
Rothbard, N.P. (2001). “Enriching or depleting? The dynamics of engagement in work and family roles”, Administrative Science Quarterly, Vol. 46, pp. 655-84.
Saks, A. (2006). Antecedents and consequences of employee engagement, Journal of Managerial Psychology, Vol. 21 No. 7, pp. 600-619.
Schaufeli, W.B. and Bakker, A.B. (2004).“Job demands, job resources, and their relationship with burnout and engagement: a multi-sample study”, Journal of Organizational Behavior, Vol. 25, pp. 293-315.
Shaw, K. (2005). “An engagement strategy process for communicators”, Strategic Communication Management, Vol. 9 No. 3, pp. 26-29.
Sonnentag, S. (2003). “Recovery, work engagement, and proactive behavior: a new look at the interface between non-work and work”, Journal of Applied Psychology, Vol. 88, pp. 518-28.
____________________________
