Exploring Employee Engagement from the Employee Perspective: Implications for HRD.

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine an employee's unique experience of being engaged in their work.Design/methodology/approach – Following Yin's case study design method, researchers collected documents, conducted semi‐structured interviews and recorded observations at a large multinational service corporation ranked as one of the best places to work. Post data collection, content analysis is used to interpret engagement efforts and experiences. Work by Kahn and Maslow are integrated as conceptual frameworks.Findings – Post analysis, three themes emerged: relationship development and attachment to co‐workers, workplace climate and opportunities for learning. Findings highlighted the development of relationships in the workplace, the importance of an employee's direct manager and their role in shaping organizational culture and the critical role of learning in an engaged employee's interpretation of their work. Scaffolding and discussion of an emergent model is provided.Research limitations/i...