The Relationship between Task Characteristics and Employee Engagement

  • ROWENA GLORIANA GEORGE
  • VICTORIA JONATHAN Journal of Borneo-Kalimantan, Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (UNIMAS)
  • FLORIANNA LENDAI MICHAEL

Abstract

The objective of this study is to identify the relationship between task characteristics (variety of skills, task identity, task significance, autonomy, feedback) and employee engagement. The study was conducted in a healthcare service in Sabah. A self administered questionnaire was used to collect data by using convenience sampling. A total of 78 respondents participated in the study. Data was analyzed using Spearman Correlation. The results revealed a significant and positive relationship between task characteristics (variety of skills, task identity, task significance, autonomy, feedback) and employee engagement in the studied organization. This has important implications to employers. It is recommended that managers, HRD practitioners and supervisors employees with more challenging tasks, autonomy and feedback from time to time. Moreover, work designs should include how the tasks may improve employee identity and significance.

References

Ahmad Zawawi, A., & Mohd Nasurdin, A. (2017). The impact of task characteristics on the performance of nursing teams. International Journal of Nursing Sciences, 4, 285-290.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnss.2017.03.009

Akumina, Inc. (2019). 2019 millenial manager survey. Retrieved from https://letsgo.akumina.com/rs/935-QKG- 213/images/2019-06-04-Millennial-Manager-Survey-New.pdf.

Aon Hewitt (2018). 2018 Employee engagement trends: Singapore employees least engaged among major Asian markets. Retrieved from https://www.asia.aonhumancapital.com/documentfiles/media/march-2018/employee-engagement-trends-singapore_27-march-2018.pdf.

Alzyoud, A. A., Othman, S. Z., & Mohd Isa, M. (2015). Examining the role of job resources on work engagement in the academic setting. Asian Social Science, 11(3), 103-110.

https://doi.org/10.5539/ass.v11n3p103

Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2008). Towards a model of work engagement. Career Development International, 13(3), 209-223.

https://doi.org/10.1108/13620430810870476

Breevaart, K., Bakker, A. B., & Demerouti, E. (2014). Daily self-management and employee work engagement. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 84(1), 31-38.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2013.11.002

Bon, A. T., & Shire, A. M. (2017). The role of job resources on work engagement: A study on telecommunication sector. International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, 7(5), 400-405.

Crawford, E. R., Lepine, J. A., & Rich, B. L. (2010). Linking job demands and resources to employee engagement and burnout: A theoretical extension and meta‐analytic test. Journal of Applied Psychology, 95(5), 834-848.

https://doi.org/10.1037/a0019364

Farndale, E., & Murer, I. (2015). Job resources and employee engagement: A cross-national study. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 30(5), 610-626.

https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-09-2013-0318

Gallup Organization (2016). How millennials want to work and live. Retrieved from https://enviableworkplace. com/wp-content/uploads/Gallup-How-Millennials-Want-To-Work.pdf.

Ganesan, J., Azli, M. Z., & Fageeh, M. A. (2017). Determinants of employee engagement in the Malaysian health care industry. World Applied Sciences Journal, 35(10), 2180-2186. doi:10.5829/idosi.wasj.2017.2180.2186.

Grant, A. M. (2008). The significance of task significance: Job performance effects, relational mechanisms, and boundary conditions. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93(1), 108-124.

https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.93.1.108

Hackman, J.R., & Oldham, G.R. (1975). Development of the job diagnostic survey. Journal of Applied Psychology, 60(2), 159-170. doi:10.1037/h0076546.Kim, W., Han, S. J., & Park, J. (2019). Is the role of work engagement essential to employee performance or 'Nice to Have'? Sustainability, 11, 1-16.

https://doi.org/10.3390/su11041050

Krishnan, R., Ismail, S., Ismail, I., Muhammed, R. N., Muthusamy, G., Kanchymalay, K. (2015). Employee work engagement: Understanding the role of job characteristics and employee characteristics. Journal of Applied Environmental and Biological Sciences, 4(10S), 58-67.

Luck, D. J., Taylor, W. G., & Robin. (1987). Marketing Research Eaglewood: Prentice Hall.

Luthans, F., & Peterson, S. J. (2002). Employee engagement and manager self-efficacy: implications for managerial effectiveness and development. The Journal of Management Development, 21(5/6), 376-387.

https://doi.org/10.1108/02621710210426864

Mat Ali, S. A., Said, N. A., Mohamed Yunus, N., Abd Kader, S., Ab Latif, D. S., & Munap, R. (2014). Hackman and Oldham's job characteristics model to job satisfaction. Procedia- Social and Behavioral Sciences, 129, 46-52.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.03.646

Mohd Nadhir, N. H., & Puteh, F. (2017). Impact assessment of job characteristics model on employee engagement. e-Academi Journal, 6(1), 28-37.

Morgeson, F. P., & Humphrey, S. E. (2006). The work design questionnaire (WDQ): Developing and validating a comprehensive measure for assessing job design and the nature of work. Journal of Applied Psychology, 91(6), 1321-1339.

https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.91.6.1321

Oliveira, J. (2015). Effects of job type and culture on relationships between job characteristics and worker outcomes: A multilevel analysis. CUNY Academic Works, 1-272. Retrieved from https://academicworks. cuny.edu/gc_etds/1078.

Peccei, R. (2013). Employee engagement: An evidence-based review. In S. Bach, & M. R. Edwards, Managing Human Resources: Human Resource Management in Transition (5th ed., pp.336-363). John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119208235.ch16

Rad, A. M., & Moraes, A. D. (2009). Factors affecting employees' job satisfaction in public hospitals: Implication for recruitment and retention. Journal of General Management, 34(4), 51-66.

https://doi.org/10.1177/030630700903400404

Robbins, S. P., & Coulter, M. (2012). Management (11th ed.). Boston: Prentice Hall.

Saks, A. M. (2006). Antecedents and consequences of employee engagement. Journal of Managerial Psychology,21(7), 600-619.

https://doi.org/10.1108/02683940610690169

Salanova, M., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2008). A cross-national study of work engagement as a mediator between job resources and proactive behaviour. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 19(1), 116-131.

https://doi.org/10.1080/09585190701763982

Schaufeli, W. B., & Bakker, A. B. (2004). Job demands, job resources, and their relationship with burnout and engagement: A multi-sample study. Journal of Organizational Behaviour, 25, 293-315.

https://doi.org/10.1002/job.248

Schaufeli, W., Salanova, M., Gonzalez-Roma, V. and Bakker, A. (2002) The measurement of engagement and burnout: A two sample confirmatory factor analytic approach. Journal of Happiness Studies, 3, 71-92.

https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1015630930326

Semmer, N. K., Jacobshagen, N., Meier, L. L., Elfering, A., Beehr, T. A., Kälin, W., & Tschan, F. (2015). Illegitimate tasks as a source of work stress. Work & Stress, 29(1), 32-56.

https://doi.org/10.1080/02678373.2014.1003996

Sonnentag, S. (2017). A task-level perspective on work engagement: A new approach that helps to differentiate the concepts of engagement and burnout. Burnout Research, 5, 12-20.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.burn.2017.04.001

Suzuki, Y., Tamesue, D., Asahi, K., & Ishikawa, Y. (2015). Grit and work engagement: A cross-sectional study. PloS ONE, 10(9), e0137501.

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0137501

Torrente, P., Salanova, M., Llorens, S., & Schaufeli, W. B. (2012). Teams make it work: how team work engagement mediates between social resources and performance in teams. Psicothema, 24(1), 106-112.

Yong, S. M., Suhaimi, M. N., Abdullah, S. S., Abd Rahman, S., Nik Mat, N. K. (2013). Employee engagement: A study from the private sector in Malaysia. Human Resource Management Research, 3(1): 43-48

doi: 10.5923/j.hrmr.20130301.09.

Published
2020-05-30
How to Cite
GEORGE, R. G., JONATHAN, V., & MICHAEL, F. L. (2020). The Relationship between Task Characteristics and Employee Engagement. Trends in Undergraduate Research, 3(1), e1-6. https://doi.org/10.33736/tur.1837.2020
Section
Cognitive Sciences and Human Development