A Creative Approach to the Employee Engagement Dilemma: Larger Cultural Influences and New Theoretical Insights

The article discusses the employee engagement dilemma and how it is perpetuated by cultural ideas such as individualism and meritocracy in the US. The author suggests that a symbolic interactionist lens and other theoretical tools can be used to interrogate these cultural assumptions and provide new insights and directions for future studies. The article is particularly relevant in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Great Resignation.

Format: Hardback
Length: 146 pages
Publication date: 17 November 2023
Publisher: Lexington Books

Despite the extensive body of literature on employee engagement spanning over three decades, persistent challenges persist, and many appear to be infiltrating organizations from the outside in. Organizations that have invested in their current structures, align with broader cultural ideologies, and seek inspiration from other organizations often view engagement as a people problem and relegate it to a separate realm outside of their regular operations. This creates the employee engagement dilemma. The US macro-cultural lens, which emphasizes individualism and meritocracy, reinforces and validates this approach, as well as the underlying logic. These cultural ideas drive scholars and practitioners to conduct an ongoing examination of the circumstances within organizational settings, perpetuating the dilemma.

In the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and the Great Resignation, the stakes for employee engagement have never been higher, particularly for organizations with remote workforces. In A Creative Approach to the Employee Engagement Dilemma: Larger Cultural Influences and New Theoretical Insights, Fisher employs a symbolic interactionist lens and other theoretical tools to critically examine the current trajectory and unveil the foundational cultural assumptions operating externally that limit our thinking about and undermine engagement before it even begins. By gaining these broader cultural insights, Fisher then revisits the engagement literature and broader scholarly offerings to draw upon novel insights, practical research solutions, and new directions for future studies.

Weight: 380g
Dimension: 159 x 237 x 17 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781666926392