Publication Date

Summer 2016

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Psychology

Advisor

Megumi Hosoda

Subject Areas

Psychology

Abstract

Employee engagement is one of the most researched topics in the field of industrial and organizational psychology, mainly because it has been shown to be linked to many positive individual and organizational outcomes. Although past research has consistently shown that job and personal resources are related to employee engagement, little attention has been paid to understand the underlying mechanisms of such relationships. The present study hypothesized that psychological empowerment would be a mediator between job and personal resources (i.e. supervisor support, opportunities for growth, and core self-evaluations) and employee engagement. Using survey response data from 165 employees throughout several industries, results showed that psychological empowerment mediated the relationship between core self-evaluations and employee engagement. Furthermore, the psychological empowerment dimension of meaning mediated the relationship between all of these resources and employee engagement. These results suggest that meaning is an important mechanism leading employees with these resources to become engaged in their work. These results suggest that organizations should place employees in roles that align with their personal set of beliefs and values, and further research should be conducted on potential positive work outcomes of meaning.

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