The Scope and Nature of Employee Engagement in China

China’s economic rise has coincided with the participation of a new generation of skilled employees across the country. Correspondingly, Chinese employees now enjoy more job opportunities than before, especially in relation to career choices and learning and development opportunities. Despite China’s large presence in the global economy, archaic western human resource management practices have often been applied to examine employee engagement in China. Therefore, the foremost aim of this chapter is to review existing studies that have explored the predictors and outcomes of employee engagement in China at the individual, team, organisational, and national levels. In addition, the unique role of labour institutions (e.g., Ministry of Human Resource and Social Security, All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, and All-China Federation of Trade Unions) will be explored and discussed in relation to employee engagement in Chinese organisations. This chapter also aims to provide practical understanding on how employers in China have effectively enhanced and sustained employee engagement. In doing so, employers and managers within and beyond China can gain deeper insights into workplace best practices that increase employee engagement in the Chinese context. Finally, this book chapter concludes by offering future research directions for employee engagement in China.