The social psychology of work engagement: state of the field

What is it about?

In this article, I develop a social psychological model of work engagement. First, work engagement is contagious – colleagues, leaders, and the intimate partner can be important causes of engagement. Second, work engagement emerges at the team-level when team members collectively experience high levels of vigor, dedication, and absorption. Team members of engaged teams synchronize their activities well and perform better. Third, leaders may influence employee work engagement through fast (unconscious) and slow (conscious) influence processes. Fourth, employees may use social forms of proactive behavior to stay engaged in their work, including job crafting and playful work design. Finally, work engagement may spill over to and enrich the family domain.

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