Engaging the Workforce : The Grand Management Challenge of the 21st Century

Grounded in 25 years of research and practical experience, this book shows how to create engaging work environments and practices that harness employees’ energy and talents toward achieving organizational goals, while enhancing workers’ motivation and well-being. Creating and sustaining high functioning work environments lies at the core of management practice, and employee engagement is a key element in shaping these workplaces – and a significant challenge for business leaders. Academic researchers and practitioners have tackled the topic, but a chasm exists between these perspectives: academics tend to emphasize theory over problem-solving, while practitioners tend to rely on formulaic approaches and experience, rather than empirically tested theoretical frameworks. Thought leader, accomplished CEO, and organizational development consultant Nicos Rossides bridges this gap, exploring the complexity and fragmented nature of the academic literature and offering insight into practitioner approaches used by research and consulting organizations. He also presents his own conceptual framework that he has built over the years and is meant to be customized to specific organizational contexts. This insightful book will be of great interest to CEOs, board members and line managers across industries, as well as HR/OD practitioners and students, especially those who wish to learn how to apply time-tested intervention strategies to the workforce engagement challenge. Cover Endorsements Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Contents Figures Acknowledgments Foreword Part I: The "What" and "So What" of Employee Engagement Chapter 1: Introduction Shifting Priorities in a Changing World References Chapter 2: The Evolution and Importance of Work Historical Background Modes of Organization and New Ways of Working References Chapter 3: The Future of Work and the AI-Powered Revolution References Chapter 4: The Human Side of Management The Key Pillars of Management Thinking The Shifting Institutional Logic of the New Economy References Chapter 5: The Emergence of New Management Paradigms References Chapter 6: Building Engagement: An Integrative Conceptual Framework A Working Definition and Operationalization of Employee Engagement Antecedent Organizational Practices Job Attributes (Job Characteristics) Learning and Development Perceived Organizational Support Line Manager Relationship Rewards and Recognition Organizational Justice Leadership Communication Engagement Referents: To Job, Team,or Organization The Consequences of Engagement Proximal and Distal Consequences References Chapter 7: Academic and Practitioner Perspectives on Engagement Prescriptions for Bridging the Multiple Constructs References Chapter 8: Relevant Theoretical Frameworks Social Exchange Theory Self-Determination Theory Job Demands and Resources Theory Conservation of Resources Theory Ability-Motivation-Opportunity Theory Broaden-and-Build Theory Attribution Theory References Chapter 9: Research on the Drivers of Engagement Emerging Research Directions References Chapter 10: Research on the Consequences of Engagement Decomposing Job Performance Proximal versus Distal Factors Engagement With or to What? Heightened Energy, Identification, and Flow The Link between Engagement and Innovation References Chapter 11: The Dysfunctions of Disengagement Hurricane Employees (The "Terrorists") Workplace Malfunction through Fables (in Folk Theory) References Part II: The "Now What" Around Engagement: A Practitioner Focus Chapter 12: Implications for Managerial Action The Link between Engagement and Work Outcomes The Employee-Customer Effect Is Engagement a Pressing Issue for SMEs? References Chapter 13: Building Managerial Competencies Embedding Listening and Feedback in Managerial Routines References Chapter 14: Practitioner Toolkits for Measuring and Managing Engagement Institutional Interest Commonalities across Practitioner Models The Academic - Practitioner Chasm References Chapter 15: The "Now What?" Around Engagement: Structuring the Intervention Process (Preparing to Change) Planning an Intervention The Backdrop to Intervention Effectiveness Is the Organization Ready for Employee Engagement? Setting Up an Effective Framework The Dynamics of Discovery The Mechanics of Discovery Integrating the Engagement Survey with Other Data Sources The Unfolding AI/Machine Disruption The Dynamics of Design Organizational Domain Relationship Domain The Job Domain The Mechanics of Design Diverge before You Converge Listen to New Voices Work from the Future Back Design Lab Management Alignment Urgency Problem Statement Aiming Point Scope Analogues The Dynamics of Delivery The Mechanics of Delivery Test and Learn Employees Operations Cost-Benefit References Chapter 16: The Importance of Context Organizational Culture and Climate National (Societal) Cultures Organizational Cultures Shared Beliefs and Assumptions Espoused Values Artifacts Organizational Climate Work Settings and Business Models Forms of Organization - Mechanistic versus Organic Workforce Dynamics - People Changing versus People Processing Degree of Contingency and Digitalization Cultures Are More Hybrid than Pure References Chapter 17: Getting to Work: Intervention Strategies The Importance of Building Trust Top-Down Interventions Management-Leadership Practices Structures, Policies, and Procedures Bottom-up Interventions Intervention Success or Failure References Chapter 18: Epilogue Index "Grounded in 25 years of research and practical experience, this book shows how to create engaging work environments and practices that harness employees' energy and talents towards achieving organizational goals, while enhancing workers' motivation and well-being. Creating and sustaining high functioning work environments lies at the core of management practice, and employee engagement is a key element in shaping these workplaces - and a significant challenge for business leaders. Academic researchers and practitioners have tackled the topic, but a chasm exists between these perspectives: academics tend to emphasize theory over problem-solving, while practitioners tend to rely on formulaic approaches and experience, rather than empirically tested theoretical frameworks. Thought leader, accomplished CEO and organizational development consultant Nicos Rossides bridges this gap, exploring the complexity and fragmented nature of the academic literature and offering insight into practitioner approaches used by research and consulting organizations. He also presents his own conceptual framework that he has built over the years and is meant to be customized to specific organizational contexts. This insightful book will be of great interest to CEOs, board members and line managers across industries, as well as HR/OD practitioners and students, especially those who wish to learn how to apply time-tested intervention strategies to the workplace engagement challenge"-- Provided by publisher