J.D. Pincus critiques the current state of employee engagement in human resource management, highlighting the lack of clear definitions and the confusion between causes and effects. It proposes a refined approach, grounding employee engagement in established psychological theories of human motivation. The authors argue that the diverse definitions of engagement found in academic and practical settings can be unified under a comprehensive model of twelve human motivations. By adopting a more structured motivational taxonomy, the paper suggests improvements in theory development, research methods, and practical application. This approach aims to provide clearer, more effective engagement strategies, moving away from the fragmented and inconsistent constructs currently used.
Employee Engagement as Human Motivation: Implications for Theory, Methods, and Practice
