Building work engagement: a systematic review and meta-analysis investigating the effectiveness of work engagement interventions

Low work engagement may contribute towards decreased well-being and work performance. Evaluating, boosting and sustaining work engagement are therefore of interest to many organisations. However, the evidence on which to base interventions has not yet been synthesised. A systematic review with meta-...

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Main Authors: Knight, Caroline, Patterson, M., Dawson, J.
Format: Journal Article
Published: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. 2016
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/69921
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author Knight, Caroline
Patterson, M.
Dawson, J.
author_facet Knight, Caroline
Patterson, M.
Dawson, J.
author_sort Knight, Caroline
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Low work engagement may contribute towards decreased well-being and work performance. Evaluating, boosting and sustaining work engagement are therefore of interest to many organisations. However, the evidence on which to base interventions has not yet been synthesised. A systematic review with meta-analysis was conducted to assess the evidence for the effectiveness of work engagement interventions. A systematic literature search identified controlled workplace interventions employing a validated measure of work engagement. Most used the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES). Studies containing the relevant quantitative data underwent random-effects meta-analyses. Results were assessed for homogeneity, systematic sampling error, publication bias and quality. Twenty studies met the inclusion criteria and were categorised into four types of interventions: (i) personal resource building; (ii) job resource building; (iii) leadership training; and (iv) health promotion. The overall effect on work engagement was small, but positive, k = 14, Hedges g = 0.29, 95%-CI = 0.12–0.46. Moderator analyses revealed a significant result for intervention style, with a medium to large effect for group interventions. Heterogeneity between the studies was high, and the success of implementation varied. More studies are needed, and researchers are encouraged to collaborate closely with organisations to design interventions appropriate to individual contexts and settings, and include evaluations of intervention implementation.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-699212018-10-08T03:34:34Z Building work engagement: a systematic review and meta-analysis investigating the effectiveness of work engagement interventions Knight, Caroline Patterson, M. Dawson, J. Low work engagement may contribute towards decreased well-being and work performance. Evaluating, boosting and sustaining work engagement are therefore of interest to many organisations. However, the evidence on which to base interventions has not yet been synthesised. A systematic review with meta-analysis was conducted to assess the evidence for the effectiveness of work engagement interventions. A systematic literature search identified controlled workplace interventions employing a validated measure of work engagement. Most used the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES). Studies containing the relevant quantitative data underwent random-effects meta-analyses. Results were assessed for homogeneity, systematic sampling error, publication bias and quality. Twenty studies met the inclusion criteria and were categorised into four types of interventions: (i) personal resource building; (ii) job resource building; (iii) leadership training; and (iv) health promotion. The overall effect on work engagement was small, but positive, k = 14, Hedges g = 0.29, 95%-CI = 0.12–0.46. Moderator analyses revealed a significant result for intervention style, with a medium to large effect for group interventions. Heterogeneity between the studies was high, and the success of implementation varied. More studies are needed, and researchers are encouraged to collaborate closely with organisations to design interventions appropriate to individual contexts and settings, and include evaluations of intervention implementation. 2016 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/69921 10.1002/job.2167 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ John Wiley & Sons Ltd. fulltext
spellingShingle Knight, Caroline
Patterson, M.
Dawson, J.
Building work engagement: a systematic review and meta-analysis investigating the effectiveness of work engagement interventions
title Building work engagement: a systematic review and meta-analysis investigating the effectiveness of work engagement interventions
title_full Building work engagement: a systematic review and meta-analysis investigating the effectiveness of work engagement interventions
title_fullStr Building work engagement: a systematic review and meta-analysis investigating the effectiveness of work engagement interventions
title_full_unstemmed Building work engagement: a systematic review and meta-analysis investigating the effectiveness of work engagement interventions
title_short Building work engagement: a systematic review and meta-analysis investigating the effectiveness of work engagement interventions
title_sort building work engagement: a systematic review and meta-analysis investigating the effectiveness of work engagement interventions
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/69921