Work Engagement of Springbok’s executive team members in a teleworking context Gap Analysis of the Influence of Job Demands and Job Resources on Executive Team Members’ Work Engagement within Springbok in a Teleworking Context, to make recommendations on how to improve work engagement
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2023-07-12
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en
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In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Springbok implemented teleworking as the new norm, allowing employees to work remotely at least two days a week. A survey conducted by Springbok revealed that employees of the executive teams experienced reduced engagement in the teleworking context. This study aimed to diagnose the causes of reduced engagement and provide recommendations for improving work engagement.
In this study, work engagement is defined as a positive state characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption. In this study, the JD-R model is employed, which suggests that work engagement is influenced by the balance between job demands and job resources. The model emphasized the importance of managing job demands and enhancing job resources to promote work engagement. The most important job demands (work-home conflict, work-overload, isolation, and role ambiguity) and job resources (autonomy, social support, and performance feedback) in the teleworking context were based on the literature.
This research question was addressed using deductive qualitative methods, aiming to gain an in-depth understanding of decreased work engagement among Springbok’s executive team members. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight respondents from two executive teams. The interviews focused on exploring the participants’ experiences and perceptions related to job demands, job resources, and work engagement in the teleworking context.
The data was analysed deductively, guided by a pre-existing theoretical framework, and a coding scheme consisting of dimensions and indicators was used. The analysis aimed to analyze the gap between the actual values of the dimensions and indicators with the desired values and examine correlations and interrelationships between job demands, job resources, and work engagement.
The data analysis revealed that, to improve work engagement, Springbok should improve social support and performance feedback and decrease isolation, workload, and work-home conflict. This could be done by dividing cells into smaller groups where members can provide additional support to each other (1), focusing on creating an atmosphere of recognition and appreciation for the efforts of teleworking employees (2), introducing informal communication channels to facilitate informal interactions among colleagues (3), enforcing stricter attendance to the office to reduce isolation (4) and fostering a culture where supervisors actively monitor and encourage employees to speak up about their well-being (5).
The JD-R model was proven useful in this study, as it was easily applicable in practice and offered relevant insights into work engagement. Although this study provided interesting insights, more (inductive) research on work engagement in the teleworking context is needed. It proved valuable to examine work engagement in the teleworking context qualitatively, this is recommended for future researchers. Finally, it was shown that job design and organizational design are an extension of each other and can help each other by conducting research at different levels to provide a more complete picture.
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Faculteit der Managementwetenschappen