Evaluation of work engagement as a measure of psychological well-being from work motivation

Employee motivation is related to organizational improvements and employee well-being; therefore, understanding motivation levels within the workforce is important to achievement of organizational goals. Employee well-being metrics with sensitivity beyond job satisfaction may provide managers with better feedback on employee work motivation. Direct measurement of work motivation is difficult because it is a higher order latent variable that must be inferred from measurements of other employee work-related attitudes and behaviors. A relatively new construct called work engagement has been developed to measure employee well-being at work. Work engagement is defined by three highly correlated factors: vigor, dedication and absorption. This dissertation evaluated using work engagement as a measure of work motivation. Goal theory and job characteristics theory provided the framework for two research models. Antecedent variables from the two motivation theories were treated as predictors of an employee's level of work engagement, including goal orientations, job goal attributes, occupational self-efficacy, and job characteristics. The three factors of work engagement were treated as dependent variables.;The models were tested using a cross-sectional field study approach. Research model variables were operationalized in a web survey by combining measurement scales of previously validated survey instruments from the literature. The web survey was distributed to graduate engineering students with jobs and to all employees of an engineering technical services company.;Results were analyzed to evaluate the strength and significance of correlations and regression paths between variables. Structural equation modeling was employed to evaluate goodness-of-fit between the theoretical research models and the sample data set. The goal theory research model produced favorable results. The implication for management is that work engagement can be used to measure work motivation in an engineering technical services organization. The results show that goal theory, when deployed in an organization that promotes healthy workplace practices, will have a positive effect on employee psychological well-being from increased work motivation. This effect can be reliably and validly measured by managers using the 9-item version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Survey instrument.