398 Handbook of rene The Cae a 33 How to improve work engagement? Tse Wes Chen, Cea Lae HL Oth, “Tot a sme kg soe Wilmar B. Schaufeli and Marisa Salanova Introdetion: from treatment and prevention towards “amplition” This chapter deals with how to enhance work engagement and other related. positive psychological slates. In answering this question, we take ‘an individual as well as an organizational perspective. So we rephrase the question inthe tlle as: what can the employee doin order to flour ish and thrive at work, and what can the organization do in or¥er to promote a flourishing and thriving workforce? Before providing an over tiew of individual- and organization-based intervention stratepies, We butline the broader postive peyehologieal framework ofthese “positive Traditionally speaking, individual snd organizational interventions i in occupational health psychology are rooted in the socalled “medical | isease™ model, This mgans that interventions are carried out only when something is wrong oF malfunctioning. and with the sole objective of fixing i, Essentially. a preventive approach operates according to the same logic of the medical model, albeit that the intervention focuses on ‘contro, rather than on momentary damage Future damage and dant ‘Currently it soms that we are entering into a novel phase of develop sent that we would like to dub “amplition” (Latin, ampli: o enlarge inetease, or magnify), In contrast to treatment and prevention, amplition| isnot based on the maxim ofthe medial disease model —fix what is broken but on the postive psychology principe of improvement or betterment (Seligman & Csikezentmibaly, 2000). Ampiition is about “postive” ierventions that promote, inerease and improve employee health and wrellbeing including work engagement. In a way this isa logical next step fof widening the scope because treatment is by definition ~ restricted to Employees ho suffer from an identified disease, whereas prevention is festictad to those who potentially may suffer from it, Amplition goes fone step beyond to include the entire workforce Because itis based on the belie that improving employee health and well-being ~ including work engagement is long-term mission that requires continuous and sus- tained effort. Instead of replacing one another, treatment, prevention and ninplition supplement one another by widening the scope, not only from iseases via potential diseases to employee heath and well-being, but aso400 Handbook ofemel from individual sick or distressed employees, sia particular groups tris, tothe entre workForse of the organization, About “pos rentons, happiness, and work engagement Unfortunately, 10 date only very few interventions to improve work ‘cnzaement cust and have been tested, The available interventions ~ par Cielarly those that focus on the individual ~ are typically not targeted tthe workplace and sim at ineteasing happiness in different life areas instead of engagement at work, For that reason we have to broaden our Scope und include other positive psychological states, which are usually Submomed under the overarching and interchangeably used headings of happiness" or “subjective well-being” Basically. happiness or subjective ‘well being eelers to the preponderance of postive emotions such 2s oy. itisfaction, enthusiasm, and interest. These positive emotions partially overlap with our definition and operationalization of work engagsment fh terms of vigor. dedication and absorption. For instance. the Utecht ‘Work Engagement Seale includes items that explicitly refer to positive Choon for example "Iam enthusiast about my job" ain “Test happy tven fam working intensely” (Schaufeli eta, 202). The main diference tetween happiness and work engagement is thatthe former refers to a trove general and context-free postive paychological state, whereas the laters more specific ane work related That happy employees are important for organizations is exemplified by a meta-analysis of Lyubomirsky eta, 2005) which showed that happy employees: «¢- ace more likely to secure job interviews bua beter jobs with more autonomy. meaning, and variety ze more postively evaluated by thee superiors and by others 1 handle managerial jobs better 13 ares likely o show counterproductive and retaliatory workplace Iechavirs such as stealing, bullying. and sabot 4 exhibit peo-soval behavior at work, such as altruism, courteousness, and helping others Show leva withdrawal behavior, such as turnover and absenteeism; fare kes ikely to burn out Show more extearole behavior (going the extra mile") and show superior performance and productivity This profile of happy employees is remarkably similar to that of engaged employees sha also work in challenging jobs, show personal initiative pro-social behavior, exttaroke behavior, ss withdrawal behavior, lower ————————————-— How to improve work engagement? $01 hurnout levels, better physical health, and superior academic ajo Det formance (for an oveTview, see Schaufeli & Salanova, 2008; Salanov & ‘Schuufei 2008) Taken together this suggests that it swale to broaen Sar scope and to diseuss positive individual interventions that promote happiness Am overview of inividul-basd interventions Ponte” interventions that aim at inereasing the individual's level of happiness including an employe’s work engagement — may focus o8 cerpuing the individuals behavior, on changing the individuals belies, or Sn changing the individual's goals and motives Beha ‘Pracicing virtues Oneo the basic principles of positive psychology is that aaocrmed happiness or work engagement, for that matter isnot Fostered Fei pure of pleasure edonion, but instead by leading a meaning aencs gmoney That is virtaoUs life that is in accordance with one's aes eeeidt or trae se. Living a authentic IME and Cally sale se he talents and potentials constitutes the Key to sustained hap ae a Dec, 201), Hence, identifying and developing one’s wnigve eonat strengths socalled “signature strengths” serail, Based on as Slumaure strength Questionnaire (ee: www auentchappines 8) armature strength can be dented (Peterson & Seligman, 2004) ore era atady in which respondents recived individualized Feedback sachs topsave signature sitengths and were encouraged to use them aa rea ring the next week showed an inerease in happiness, pa sore dutaben they mere used iva new and diferent way every day of the vet Geligman eal, 2005), Similar positive results were found wit the ‘Sshapthe Finder” (Buckingham & Cliton, 2001) ~ which assesses 4 Siren al urengths. Administering this tool and providing employess aoe mcup actvilis to develop their dominant talents, significantly pareased employee work engagement (Clifton & Harter, 2003) ‘being kind to hers Committing ets of kindness may boost happiness aan feats ars likly 10 elct postive feedback for example, grate Pas pretation) and fo stimulate reciprocation (or example, helping sn ahd postive soci interaction, Moreover, acts of kindness oe ar rs may help the person to view hime of Herself a altri, ee er rocat wleeatecm and confidence. When participants were raters practice acts of kindness (for example, hokding the door open ee aan ving an ekery relative, oF donating blood) during a$04 Hanaiook of emplovce engagement surprisingly, optimism is associated with happiness, better mental and ‘physical health, high self-regard, a sense of mastery, superior achievement rerson & Steen, 2002), and work engagement (Xanthopoulow etal S009). Optimism can be cultivated by visualizing and writing about one's est possible se”, a mental exercise in which one focuses on one’s best possible future self Tt appeared that writing a narative description ofthe est possible future sel” For four consecutive days increased happiness and decreased physical ailments inthe five months after the writing ss sions (King, 2001) Another strategy isto replace pessimistic explanations [°My boss did not speak to me today: he must not like me”) ~ though ‘sing disputation (What other evidence do T have that he doesn't like tne") - by more optimistic explanations "He was probably too busy") This boils down (0 unlearning a pessimistic and learning an optimistic attributional style (Seligman, 1991), Technigues such as writing about the best possible self of unlearning @ pessimistic attributional tye an be applied quite straightforwardly to the work situation Savoring This is ahout mindfully accentuating. and sustaining pleas- lrable moments us they fold, aad abwut deibecatey re 8 ceaperiences in ways that rekindle enjoyment, People who are inclined to Savor Ife’ joys are more el-confident, extraverted, and less hopeless and depressed (Bryant & Veroll, 2006), Various statepes have heen suggested to Tester savoring, such as reminiscence together with colleagues, replay happy days, be open to beauty and excellenee, and take pleasure in the senses (Lyubomirsky, 2007). There is some empitial support for happi ‘ess increases asa result ofthese kinds of strategies. A remarkable finding js that analyzing positive experiences rather than savoring them seems to nullily the positive effect (Lyubomirsky eta, 2006). Sinee savoring involves stepping back, taking time-out, and deliberately siting one's attention to particular pleasurable events and experiences seems to beat ‘aks with work, Nevertheless, work breaks may offer excellent opportuni: ties for savoring, either alone (for example, eajoying one’s coffee) or with ‘one’s colleagues for example, looking back a a oin festivity). ting an pursuing personal ‘Trying to achiowe personal meaning- Ful goss important because t provides a sense of purpose and meaning it bolsters selestoem and efficacy belies st ads structure and meaning to one’s daily ie it struct = ime, and finally it encourages socal contacts Tes easy to recognize the snilarity withthe psychological Funetions of work, which illustrates that work goals may act as very powerful personal How to improve work engagement? 405 goals There are various ways to propery set and pursue personal mean- intl goals that are intrinsic (ratifying in themselves), authentic (red in one’s core interests) and harmonious (Complementary rather than confieting) (Lyubomirsky, 2007) For instance, in order (0 choose ~ or tincover - proper long-term meaningful goal one may write dows the personal legacy that one would leave after one had died. Or one may citi- Elly examine one’s commitment toa particular goal; is one really commit ted to the goal with passion and zeal? Or break down a higher-level goal {for example, being promoted to supervisor) into smaller low-level goals (for example, enrol in a leadership traning course and be « more active rntworkeo) The effectiveness of some ofthese strategies has recently been dlemonstrated in an intervention study by Sheldon etal (2002) that focused fom inereasing goa idnticaton, fostering intrinsic motivation and inte {rating the current goal into an overarching long-term goal. As expected, {gol attainment led to enhanced wellbeing and personal growth, but only for those participants whose goals “ft” their interests and values. Another ‘udy demonstrated the effectiveness of brief imervention that Focused ‘on developing goal-setting and planning skills (MacLeod et al. 2008) Participants cet iceivedcollstvely three ope hour weekly sessions oF ‘completed the program indvidvally nthe own time, using an instruction manual In both eases an inerease was observed in life stislaction,eficacy beliefs and positive affect, Increase resilience subse of people who, confronted with a major chal lenge that unsetls their personal foundations, eport personal growth, Srengthening or even thriving. They havea renewed bliin their ability toendure. their socal relationships have been improved. and last but not least they developed a deeper anil more sophisticated and satisfying pi Tosopy afi Cedeschi & Calhoun, 2004), In short, these people are said to be resent. Finding meaning ia what has happened particularly fosters feslienee: Numerous studies have shown that writing about one's deepest thoughts and feslings related to the negative event for about 15-30 minutes tach day on three to five consecutive days leads to enhanced immune Functioning and physical health, les depression, anxiety and distress, none ie satisfaction. and also to kss work absenteism, and am increased Tikeinood of finding a new job after unemployment (Frattaroli, 2006). Tt sects that this postive effects nor caused by emotional catharsis but by the highly structured act of writing itself. Recently, resilience has also ttracted the attention of organizational scholars. For instance, Steife “and Vogus (2003) defined resence asthe maintenance of positive adjust ment under challenging conditions; more specifically, the abiity to bounce tack from untoward evens, to absorb stain and preserve oF improve402 Hansook of lWeveck period, they felt happier than before (Roehm & Lyubomirsky: 2009). This positive eee was particulary strong for these who perform wide wuriet of kindness sets and who cancenated thet ets i shot ime pevd. Acts of kindness ean easily be committed at the workplace bocuse soci interactions with others (colleagues. supervisors, custome rs) are inherent to work, In order to be most elective. acta of kindness should be varied and commited in short period. for instance ata desig snuted “kindness day Expressing granule Expressed yratitude promotes the savoring of posi= live life experiences insiead of taking them for granted. Moreover. i holsters selsvorih, builds social bonds. and last but nt Hest Hi "an antidote to toxie workplace emouions” (Emmons, 2008. p90}. thei lictnet study, Seligman et al-(2005) showed that wrting und debwvering leterof gratitude 1 someone who had been especially kind or impurtant inereased happiness. Although writing gratitade leters at work mht not scem immediately applicable. numerous oscasions exist for espresing ‘one’s pratitude verbally Leaning ingone’s ‘motivation for revenge and retaliation in response ton bune such 2s an insull, an offence. a betrayal. ora desertion, Asa rest, negative emotions are replaced by more positive or benevolent attitudes felings. and beh ‘ors, People who forgive are likely to be more happy. healthy. agrecable and serene, aswell as fess ansous, depressed and neurotic (McCullough, 200), An intervention study with «group elderly women who felt hurt by an abusive interpersonal experience and learaed to forgive, showed ‘that their fvel of anxiety decreased sand their ellesteem increase (Hb & Enright, 1993), Ac work, potemally threatening, harming oe abusive events are plentiful, such as dismiss, reonpanization, missed promo ‘ion opportunities, favoritinm, violence and harassment by colleagues oF customers. and negative performance feback. It follows that there fs {great potential for acts of forgiveness at work. For instance. by writing leuter of forgiveness to someone who did wrong. by empathing with an anting imi or her imaginary tofpisenes. or by practicing ‘empathy for the person who hurt you (Lyubomirsky. 207), ingine Forgiveness involves suppressing oF mits: Sharing gud news Research has shown compellingly that sharing good news of telling others about a positive experince increases the positive ‘motions (Gable et al. 2004). Moreover, appeared that positive alec ontinves to inerease with addtional sharing f the good news, and tht Positive evens that are shared are more likely to be remembered. follows How 1 inpsove work engagemens? 40 that celebrating one's succeses at work togsther with other members of the tam, such as having closed a hurative business deal, semis an effective way to increase le agement Inadition, sharing good news ight bolster the team sprit heat indications have been found For the ‘contagiousness” of engagement in work ams (Bakker et 209). fsof work e Nurwaring social relationships The most important function of social relations is that othets provide support in times of distress. This social support comes in various ways, as practical help oF assistance, a emo tional suppor, oF as information, Numerous studies have documented that social support at work is associated with better health and well-being For instance, 1 meta-analysis mcluding over 200 studs revealed that Sovial support at work was associated with job satsfaetion, sle-eportd nal, [es burnout and lower withdrawal intentions (Viswesvaran eta 1999), In order to nurture soci relationships a the workplace. employ ess could spond time together Tor example, socialize during work Breaks ‘instead of wolating themselves), not only tah about work but aso about personal matters, and be loyal and supportive helping others, listening to thom, and giving them useful information, W's eings This about he svoring of positive ieee shih tc fs mrelly grate: An indeed dandy showed that kesping a spurl ike hatred pana happnes ees up te pero of has ro tied A see reenton ha aed ths contemplation Into incensed prispnts panes hah Enns & coh, Culivating optinian Generally speaking, optimism refers to the expec tation thatthe ture is bright ara to the belie! that one's goals ean be accomplished, Because they fel confident that they will achieve their ‘oul, optimists ate likely to inves the neessary effort to succeed, Not406 ndbook of emploree eng functioning despite the presence of adversity. According to Sutcliffe and Vogus. employee resilience ~ and with it personal growth and develop ment. incline work engagement is fostered by adequate jb resourees (for example. colleague and supervisory supper, job conteoll and mastery mitivation (for example, optimism, selfeticacy). Recently. the elles were evaluated of a microintervention that aimed to ierease not only the employees’ resiliency. ut also their select, optimism and hope (Luthan ta, 2006), The combination ofthese Four psscholocal sates is dubbed “psychological capital” (PsyCap). A oupshased intervention {0 increase employee's PsyCap consisted of) formulating a specie work sal and being instructed how hes o altain ths (for example, by taking small steps, by having conceete aad measurable endpoints): Gi speslying "he pathway to be followed (that i, generating and discussing mulipe pathways to the goal} and (i) preparing to overcome obstacles (hat is builin anticipatory abilities to overcome obstackes) Compared tothe ‘on-intervention control group. te intervention group showed a signif cant increase in PayCap, that Some of these individual intrventiony ‘ay be applied to the work situation but have a-wider, more existential ‘meaning. This eates to practicing virtues, setting and pursuing persnal ‘meaningful goals. and fostering resilience, These strategies involve the Petson's core values interests and preferences; ultimately they are about Knowing oneself: Ths not only implies that one i aware of one's talent, Values and goals at work, but also how these it into one’s latuer. existe tial scheme of things, The most promising individual strategies focus on the interpersonal aspects of work und involve other people such as colleagues, persons and customers (that is. being kind to others, expressing araitude learn ing to Forgive. sharing good news, and nurs cal relationships). These strategies can easly be applied at work because communicating with other Persons is inherent fo most jobs. The reason why we believe that these Strategies are particularly effective is twofold, Fist, they ae likely toeict, Positive reactions from others, which encourages the emplayee to continue withthe positive behavior, Asa result this postive behavior is likely to be reciprocated by others inthe form of smiling back, sel-dislosure, Kind ness and offering help and assistance. So. by using these interpersonal Sratepes at work, iti kely that the employee enters a self perpetuating ‘epward spiral Salanova eta, 20106). Second these positive imetpersonal strategies act asa double-edged sword. On the one hand they increase the ‘employees level of engagement, but on the other they alo improve the Hows 10 inprove social etimate at work by fostering group cohesion, resolving conics, and Increasing loyalty. team spit and peo-scial behavior An overview of orgunizational-basdinterves The shift ftom the prevailing traditional, negative approach that focuses mn sickness and unwell-heing toward & mote postive approach that Focuses on health and wellness provides the opportunity for human resource management (HRM) and occupational health psychology (OHP) to jit Forces. fier al, organizational health ~ the domain of HRM and employee heath ~ the domain of OHP ~ are eo-dependent, meaning that iereasing the former also increases the latter, and vie versa. This «oudependence is illustrated bythe growing recognition thatthe organiza tion’ financial health correlates with vestments in employee well-being (Goetee et al. 2001). Hence, analogous to the classical adage "a healthy ‘ind in healthy body” one could formulate as common goal for OHP anu HRM to promote healthy emp Tn our opinion iti esential for building work engagement to initiate and to maintain so-caed “gain spirals", Research suggests that upward Spirals exist that are sparked by job resources and personal resources (that is. seleticacy belief) and may result in various postive outeomes suc as extra-role performance. via Work engagement (see Salanova ta 2010h for a review) In turn, these postive outcomes increase resourees and foster high levels of engagement, and so on. Following the logic of ‘hese gain spirals, work engagement may be increase by stimulating each Tink of the spiral, bei resourses or positive outcomes. Below itis outined oyees in healthy organizations how this ean be achieved, using strategies that focus on: (i) assessing and evaluating employees, (i) designing and changing workplace, (i) ‘enhancing transformational leadeeship, (iv) work taining. and (v carcer Berson The ultimate purpose of personnel assessment and evaluation is to opti= mize the chance of having the right person in the sight spot, That i. to reate an optimal balance in terms of a good fit between personal values and goals, and those of the organization. More particularly, personnal assessment and evaluation is about increasing identification, motivation and commitment ~ from the perspective of the organization 3s well as about personal and professional development ~ from the perspective of the employee. Work engagement plays # crucial role becuse, on the one hand it fosters employee identification, motivation and commitment and on the other, it fosters employees’ development; For instance by the level of self-efficacy. which isan important prerequisite for408 Handbook of en ‘organizational learning (Bandura, 2001), An essential tool foe sucessful valuation and appraisal on the job is systematic ailosmade preferably Positive ~ feedback. The following three strategies ean be distinguished that may enhance work engagement © Esablishing and monitoring te psvehological contract The psy ‘chological contract reflects the employees subjective nation of eee Procity: the gains or outcomes from the ofganization (for example salary. recognition) are expected to be proportional to ones ot investments or inputs (for example effort, loyalty). When the Psychological contract is violated and reciprocity is conrodad, this might lead to burnout (Sehaute, 2006) anda host of other negative ‘outcomes, including the intention to quit turnover job dssatis tion, cynicism, poor organizational commitment, and sbsenteisny {Vor example. Rousseau, 1995: De Boer etal, 2002), Hence. fain Psychologial contract shouldbe established that reficets an optimal hi between employee and organization in tems of mutual expecta tions. This ean be achieved by: (i) assessing the employee's values preferences. and personal and professional goals: (i newotating and ‘rafting a watten contract CEiployee Development. Agreement} that guarantees the necessary resoutees from the organization to achieve personal meaning Is: and (i) monitoring this written agreement periodically in terms of goal achievement. ° Per le workoeliness audits The aims of these audits to infoem individual employees, as well as the organizations they work for about thei levels of wellness, including engagement. This informa tion is important fr makin ‘decisions about measure for improve ment that should be taken, either individually or organceationaly Based on the job demands resources model (Bakker & Demerout 2007), work-wellness audits were developed in Spain Gow. wont Uujies) and in the Netherlands (www efobll. Thea audits inelude job stessors (lor example, work overload, conflicts, role problems ‘motional demands, work-home interference). job resources (tor example, variety, feedback, social support. job control career slevelopmend, burnout, engagement, negative personal and oegan Zational outcomes (Kor example, depression. distres, absentecian, turover intention), and postive personal and organizational out. comes (for example, job satisfaction, organizational commitment ‘xtracote performance). In addition, personal and job information is included, as well as personal resoutees suchas selteticacy. and ‘mental and emotional competences © Workshops om work engagement Workshops ate structured group Howe to inrove work engagement? $09 ‘meetings of employees to promote health and well-being, inclu ‘ng work engagement, usually by means of augmenting personal resources, Workshops that aim co build engagement are similar 10 so-called “quality cirles" excep that they focus onthe enhancement ‘of personal resoures, suchas cognitive, behavioral and social skills {or example. positive thinking, goal-setting, time-management, and ies improvement The (f@pesignng of jobs serves two purposes from an occupational health perspective i aims to reduce the exposure to psychosocial risks, whereas from an HRM perspective it aims a inteasing employee motivation, It follows from the job demands-resourees model (Bakker & Demerout 21007) that, n order to increase engagement, reducing the expose (0 job Steessorsis not an option because this would also eliminate jo challenge Instead the motivating potential of job resources should be exploited hocause these stimulate personal growth, leaning and development of employees. In contrast, the lack of organizational resources has a det Jen! motivating and performance (Wong cal. 1998) ‘ental effect on since it precludes actual goal accomplishment, and undermines employees Tearning opportunitios (Kelly. 192), Anotereelatedstratesy ito implement work changes, In doings ob resutces ate not additionally provided or increased, but they are merely changed, for example. when jobs ae rotated, when employees are lempo- rarily assigned to carry oUt special projets, of when they are transferred fo entirely diferent jobs, Based on qualitative research on engagement (Schaufeli et al. 2001) we may add that, most likely. changing work also increases work engagement This willbe particularly the case when employees fee challenged in their new jb whilea the same time they have the necessary competencies to meet the challenges (Salanova el, 2002), Transformational leadership An important task of leaders sto optimize the emotional eimate in their team. A good kader is able to enhance motivation and engagement Research suggests that engagement is “contagious”, it crosses over not ‘only from partner to spouse, bat also from one tam member to another (Bakker etal, 2006). Te also appears that engagement is collective phe- rhomenon. meaning that teams may feel “engaged” when their members closely collaborate to accomplish particular tasks (Salunova et al, 2003), m leaders may have a positive impact on levels of individual and collective engagement depending on the Way they manage their work teams. For example, Aguilar and Salanava (2009) found that leaders who Hence.410 Handbook emplove engagement were tash oriented and supportive were more suecesfl in nereasing in Sidual work engagement than thse dispaving other leadership tetevney Such considerate leadership behaviors stinlatea favorable roupetines thats characterized by Fairness, trust openness and constructive probing solving Im addition, considerate behavirssuchascoaching an providing feedback and socal support are important resources in and of theochne ‘that may promote work engagement (Schaufl etal 2) According to Bass (983), transformational laleship goes one step beond this considerate, employee-entered leadership sie by ollreg employees a purpose that transcends shor-term goals amd foci ob higher-order intrinsic ects, This kind of leadership is of special spon {ance for today’s organizations that go through profound changes oad are therefore in need ofcharismati, inspiring and visionary leaders whe ate able to motivate employees and build engagement. Transformational leaders display conviction, take a stand, challenge followers with hh Standards, communicate optimism about futute goal attamnnent cae late and encourage ereatvity and innovation, and listen to fallow concers and needs (Avon. 199). Not surprisingly, this leadership segs has 4 postive impact on followers’ health and welacng {Niches eso 2009). 2s well as on their performance andl motivation (Stlanova eta 20104). More particularly, the later study showed that transformational leadership increased followers’ work engagement. and in turn ales ha extra-role performance Work training Work training is a traditional HRM strategy that is used to enhance employes’ levels of work engagement. tn ort to dose, Work ining Programs shouldbe particularly directed at personal growth and devon, tment insead of being exclusively content dete. In our view il eflcacy beliefs (that is the power to believe that You can) isthe comma stone for the promotion of work engagement via work taining According to social cognitive thenry (SCT), sellefficaey ies at the core of human agency and is important because i influences empleyerr behavior, thinking, motivation, and feelings (Bandura, 2001), Resear on work engagement has show that itis elated ohh evel slbeicny lor example, Salanova etal, 2002, 2003, 201M, 20106), Kves mene research suggests an upward gain spiral in which selfelfiney tec, engagement, which in its tuen, increases eficaey hells ad ac on hee a overview, see Salanova eta, 201Hb), This means that effiney hear, serve asa kind of sel- motivating mechanism: as a consequetec chee tng their own competence, employees set new goals that mottvetethecg ‘© mobilize addtional effor, focus on achieving these goals and heme How to improve work engagement? U1 Detsistent inthe face of difcultes. Engagement scm to full two roles in this dynamic process. namely as an antesadent that fosters selfeicacy as well sa consequence associated with succesful goal attainment But how can self-eficaey ~ and therefore work engagement — be sanced? Acconling to SCT, efficacy bekefs may be augmented by Iastery experiences, vicarious experience, verbal persbasion, and posi- tive emotional states (Bandura, 2001), Hence training programs should include, for instance, practical exercises to provide experiences of Vocde tional success (mastery experiences), role modes of good performance (sicarims experiences), coaching and encourigement (verbal persuasion, and reducing fear of rejection oF failure (managing emotional states) According to SCT. mastery experiences are the most powerlul tool for boosting efcacy belies. The best way to evoke mastery experiences tn ‘employees is therefore by tackling work probems in succesive, attainable steps. Ina similar vein, i people see similar others succeed hy sustained effort during work training, they come to believe that they also have the capability to suceved (vicarious experiences, Trainers and supervisors ‘uy albo use social persuasion in order to sfluence employees that they have what i takes to succeed and so they make mor effort and are more likely to persevere i they have selfdoubis when obstackes arse: Final employees’ negative emotional states may be reduced by applying sexe. ‘management techniques. These principles to increase self-efleacy may also be applied by supervisors when coaching their employees Career management Although most employees still favor lifelong job stability and vertical ‘upward mobility, current changes in organizational life make this perp tive no longer a selFevident one. Hence, insead of a fixed career path ‘of which each step requires specific pre-defined experience and expertise nowadays employees have to ope with a much more unstable job market More than before, employees have to rely on their own initiative to con tinuously develop themselves professionally and personally in order to remain employable Employability also cludes high level of engagement because it makes employees more fit and able to-do the job (Salanova & Llorens. 2008), However, following the upward gain spiral of work engagement, the reverse might also be tru: by carefully planning one’s career, that is, by successively selecting those jobs that provide ample opportunity for pro. fessional and personal development, iis ikely that levels of engagement will remain high So the key iste for employees to remstin engaged in thei job isto keep veloping themselves throughout ther career. Some of the tools that412 Handbook of emp Ihave been introduced previously inthis chapter eam be use for career ment. Firs, by completing a work-wellness audit periodically the employee can monitor his or her level of engagement actos tin Second by including the development of specific sills nd competencies in the Employee Development Agreement employability can be increase Third, jobs can be redesigned, of work may be changed in sucha way a to foster employee development. Finally. work training can be used to increase selPeticaey and hence work motivation, Taken together, these strategies are instrumental for keeping ones job challenging Conclusion Improving work engagement is important for organizations and indie duals alike. Given the vested interest of companies in a healthy, our ishing and thriving workforce they are well advised to advertise and Promote work engagement. In ofder to survive and prosper in & contin ‘ously changing environment. mo le organizations do not merely need ‘healthy empfoyees — that is, employees who are symptom Tree But {engaged employees, who are vigorous, deicited, and absorbed in theit work. This si line with the asic tenet of Integral Health Manasement (IHN, a strategic approach to reduce employee sickness and promote {heir heatth and well-being, while atthe samt time Fostering pretuctvty {2wvetslot & Pot, 2004) IM posits that organizations have a letimate business interest, not only to eure sick employees and to prevent others from becoming sick, but particularly to increase the well-being of the entite workforce. Ie seems that work engagement may play a crucial role in IHM because it links individual well-being with organizational per formance (Harter etal, 2002; Salanova etal 2005: Nanthopoulou eta 2d). Needles to sas, te Focus on promoting engagement tampliton) realy bencits individual employees as well because they are encouraged to realize ther full potatial and flourish at work This chapter summarized 11 individual-based strategies and eight organizational-based strategies to improve work engagement. Although the former are targeted to the individual, they can be promoted by the ‘organization. For example, online taining or coaching programs ean be offered to employee, for instance, 10 promote aets of kindness at work to set personal goals of to share good news with colleagues. Currents we are developing and testing such programs. Illy. these inditidual, based interventions are integrated into the usual work routine such as egular team meetings. Also, ike the reduction of absenteeism, the peo ‘motion of work engagement of employees may be included in leaders 105 descriptions ‘We believe that because itis an essential, positive element of employee How-to prove work engagement? 413 health and well-being. the enhancement of work engagement may help to create synergy between postive outcomes for individual employees and for organizations. This is eloquently expressed by the slogan “Healthy employees working in healthy enganizations References RE. Quinn tel Pasir Onsunatnal Stolp. San Fab, CA. Bere414 Handbook of employee engagement How to inprove work engagement? 415 shtumes roma. Nival ME Sek Helge ee int i Behr cD Th nt and en own, Mask arbeidgevond Op zoek nat de Bevlops werknemer” {Does work ake one rac 8 Sma MEF CS Vins Ho Dutton & RE Quite a) Paste Ogun! Stop we Rae Ok