Engaging a community: How Camosun employees choose to engage in change

This research project answers the question "What factors influence an employee's choice to emotionally engage in an organizational change initiative?" and the sub questions "What do employees need from leaders during times of change?" and "How can the organization enhance capacity to deal productively with the emotional impact of change and to be resilient in the face of these impacts?" An action research approach was used in which research participants shared positive and negative experiences with change and reported on how those experiences have influenced their perspective on organizational change. Four levels of employee engagement were identified and were presented in the form of a meta-story that described each level from the perspective of a single composite employee. The conditions that influence the employee's level of engagement were identified and then used to create a framework for engagement that depicts the organizational, leadership, and individual factors that influence employee engagement.