An Evidence-Based Model of Work Engagement
Abstract
Employees who are engaged in their work are fully connected with their work roles. They are bursting with energy, dedicated to their work, and immersed in their work activities. This article presents an overview of the concept of work engagement. I discuss the antecedents and consequences of engagement. The review shows that job and personal resources are the main predictors of engagement. These resources gain their salience in the context of high job demands. Engaged workers are more open to new information, more productive, and more willing to go the extra mile. Moreover, engaged workers proactively change their work environment in order to stay engaged. The findings of previous studies are integrated in an overall model that can be used to develop work engagement and advance job performance in today’s workplace.
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Positive well-being has been conceptualized as work engagement.
“In a wealth of research, positive well-being has been conceptualized as work engagement (Bakker 2011).”
From Work engagement in health professions education (2017) · cites this paper as Bakker 2011
Motivational outcomes of work engagement include being proactive and taking initiative, setting a high bar, feeling competent and striving for quality, and displaying helpful behavior, friendliness and being cooperative.
“Motivational outcomes include being proactive and taking initiative (Sonnentag 2003; Hakanen et al. 2008; Salanova and Schaufeli 2008), setting a high bar, feeling competent and striving for quality (Bakker 2011), and displaying helpful behavior, friendliness and being cooperative (Babcock-Roberson and Strickland 2010; Bakker 2011).”
From Work engagement in health professions education (2017) · cites this paper as Bakker 2011
Job satisfaction is regarded as a passive state at work whereas work engagement is an active state towards work.
“Job satisfaction has been excluded as it is regarded as a passive state at work whereas work engagement is an active state towards work (Bakker 2011).”
From Work engagement in health professions education (2017) · cites this paper as Bakker 2011
Cites
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“A key overview was published in 2011 (Bakker 2011).”
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- Authors
- Bakker, A. B.
- Affiliations
- Erasmus University Rotterdam (NL)
- Corresponding author
- Bakker, Arnold B.
- ORCID
- Bakker, Arnold B.
- Venue
- Current Directions in Psychological Science
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2011-08
- Volume
- 20
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 265-269
- ISSN
- 0963-7214 (ISSN-L)
- 1467-8721
- OpenAlex
- W2118546791
- Cited by
- 1,381
- References
- 4
- Citations by year
- 2026: 65 · 2025: 67 · 2024: 120 · 2023: 157 · 2022: 135 · 2021: 148 · 2020: 127 · 2019: 126 · 2018: 94 · 2017: 75 · 2016: 65 · 2015: 64 · 2014: 70 · 2013: 41 · 2012: 25
- FWCI
- 80.52
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Current Directions in Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
- EUR Research Repository (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (publishedVersion)
- EUR Research Repository (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Workaholism, burnout, and well-being
- Social Sciences › Human Factors and Ergonomics › Employee Performance and Management
- Keywords
- work engagement, job demands, job resources, personal resources, antecedents of engagement, employee performance, labor productivity, proactive behavior, engagement model
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