Chapter 5: Work Engagement: An Emerging Psychological Concept and Its Implications for Organizations

Our starting point is that we believe that recent developments in Occupational Health Psychology (OHP) may contribute to the innovation of Human Resources Management (HRM) policies. Since organizations consider their employees as their most valuable asset, they are by implication interested not only in their performance, as promoted by HRM, but also in their health and well-being, as promoted by OHP. The current chapter is about an emerging psychological concept that, we believe, is highly relevant for organizations, both from an OHP and from a HRM point of view: work engagement.

We will make the case that work engagement may bridge the gap that exists between OHP and HRM and may thus play a crucial role in linking these two domains. Our basic tenet is that in order to prosper and to survive in a continuously changing environment, organizations need healthy and motivated employees, which can only be achieved when occupational health and human resources policies are integrated. Table 5.1 illustrates