Jordan Daily – While moving to the modern age, employee engagement assessment became a necessity, and in an organization, it has been defined as an important factor in achieving maximum productivity and performance.
The institute for Family health/ King Hussein Foundation conducted research aimed to investigate level of Employee engagement in health organizations in relation to Maslow’s and Herzberg theory, and took the institute as an example. Employee engagement may vary with employee demography and other contributing factors. It is important to mention that most employee engagement models neglect employees’ age, years of experience, and seniority.
This study aimed to investigate the level of employee engagement in a health organization (The Institute for Family Health) and its relationship to different variables such as gender, age, and experience. In addition, this study used some theories as Maslow’ law, and Herzberg’s theory to explain employee engagement. The number of study sample individuals who responded to the study scale was (221) of both sexes, divided into 161 females (72.9%) and 60 males (27.1%). The distribution according to age groups was as follows: (21-29) years 43.4%; (30-39) years 38.9%; (40-49) years 11.8%; (50-59) years 3.6%; (60 and above) years 2.3%. The instrument used was based on Gallup Q12 scale with modifications to reflect the researchers’ interests. The results showed that the general level of employee engagement was high with an arithmetic mean of (3.62) and a standard deviation of (.718). Higher levels were in the Basic needs and Teamwork domains. The results show virtual differences between the means of males and females in favour of females. Also, there are virtual differences between the age range means in favour of the age group (50-59) years. Moreover, there are virtual differences between the means of experience levels in favour of (4-7 Yrs.) in the Total Scale, and (more than 10 Years) in the (Management Support) and (Growth) domains, and favour of (8-10 Years) in the (Basic Needs) and (Teamwork) domains.
The employee engagement showed (higher) levels in the (Basic Needs) and (Teamwork) domains, followed by the (Management Support) and (Growth) domains. The researchers attribute the high level of engagement to the organization’s model and the management of human resources, which enhances collaboration between individuals at different positions. In addition, the organization uses an integrated approach of service delivery based on the world health organization definition of health which is defined as (a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity).
The integrated model further reduces duplication of effort, improves knowledge sharing, and leads to better engagement.
In addition, the researchers explain that females can be more engaged to work because employee engagement is a positive emotional state, and women are more likely to be responsible, connected to their surroundings, and prevent harm to others.
The aging of the world’s population is becoming more salient in the 21st century the researchers explain that because older individuals have already achieved their goals, and facing challenges in the workplace, that lead them to be more engaged. Also, older workers’ engagement levels are less influenced by intrinsic motivational work values due to their experience. In contrast, younger employees’ engagement levels are more affected by intrinsic motivations. Moreover, increased personal competencies gained as one ages and having more experience in both work and life provides more resources to manage demands faced at work and prioritizes basic needs rather than growth needs.
From an organizational perspective, the most salient contribution of the current study would benefit organizational leaders by providing an understanding of how employee engagement levels can be influenced and point out the need of monitoring policies, processes, and strategies in the workplace related to hiring, training, retaining and motivation of employees.
Organizational leaders need to be aware of these changes and actively design practices that address the needs of workers. Based on the results of this study and based on Herzberg’s theory, a significant focus on enhancing younger workers’ intrinsic motivation should be considered in organizational initiatives. This phenomenon has not gained much attention so far by business leaders.
The presence of an alliance between the employees’ interests and that of the organization will support achieving its strategies and goals and enhance the employees’ health and wellbeing. Researchers also suggest a relationship between engaged employees and customer engagement that needs to be investigated.
The results also indicate that employee engagement is complex, and there is not only one influencing factor. For leaders and H.R., this means that a multilateral approach is needed.
The Institute for Family Health/ King Hussein Foundation contributed this article to Jordan Daily .
