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What’s love got to do with it? Employee engagement amongst higher education workers

Author

Listed:
  • Byrne Orla

    (Institute of Technology Tallaght, Tallaght, Ireland)

  • MacDonagh Joe

    (Institute of Technology Tallaght, Tallaght, Ireland)

Abstract

Employee engagement is an important construct in management research as engaged employees not only perform better in their jobs but also feel happier and more fulfilled in the workplace. Employee engagement is a function of the job resources employees have in coping with their job demands. This paper makes a threefold contribution to the existing engagement literature by: (1) exploring this construct with a sample of third-level academics in the Irish public sector – a relatively unmapped sample in engagement research, (2) identifying organisational support as a key job resource that enables academics to cope with their job demands and (3) proposing that employee engagement reflects how strongly an employee puts his or her heart into work – suggesting a reconceptualization of engagement as love. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Byrne Orla & MacDonagh Joe, 2017. "What’s love got to do with it? Employee engagement amongst higher education workers," The Irish Journal of Management, Sciendo, vol. 36(3), pages 189-205.
    • Handle: RePEc:vrs:irjman:v:36:y:2017:i:3:p:189-205:n:1006
    DOI: 10.1515/ijm-2017-0019
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Clarke, Caroline & Knights, David & Jarvis, Carol, 2012. "A Labour of Love? Academics in Business Schools," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 5-15.
    2. Wilmar Schaufeli & Marisa Salanova & Vicente González-romá & Arnold Bakker, 2002. "The Measurement of Engagement and Burnout: A Two Sample Confirmatory Factor Analytic Approach," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 3(1), pages 71-92, March.
    3. Tom Redman & Ed Snape, 2005. "Unpacking Commitment: Multiple Loyalties and Employee Behaviour," Journal of Management Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(2), pages 301-328, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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