A task-level perspective on work engagement: A new approach that helps to differentiate the concepts of engagement and burnout

By Sabine Sonnentag. 2017

116 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Abstract This theoretical paper differentiates work engagement from the burnout concept by using a task-level perspective. Specifically, I argue that work engagement (i.e., the experience of vigor, dedication and absorption, Schaufeli & Bakker, 2004) emerges during the process of working. It does not only differ between persons and does not only fluctuate from one day to the other (or even within the course of a day), but can vary largely between different work tasks. Burnout (and particularly exhaustion) as a chronic state does not differ from one work task to the other. I describe task features derived from the job characteristics model (Hackman & Oldham, 1976) as predictors of task-specific work engagement and discuss interaction effects between task features on the one hand and job-level social and personal resources on the other hand. I outline possible avenues for future research and address practical implications, including task design and employee's energy management throughout the workday.

Subfields: General Health Professions, Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/9c56cde4aa585ce5207f174ddd3d817bf3d20a36

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In General Health Professions

In Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management

Citations in the corpus

Ethical Leadership, Work Meaningfulness, and Work Engagement in the Public Sector (2018, background): “243), and that when employees experience work meaningfulness, they usually find it easier to be cognitively available at work and become more absorbed and dedicated (Aryee et al., 2012; Demirtas et al., 2017; Sonnentag, 2017).”
Job crafting and playful work design: Links with performance during busy and quiet days (2020, background): “By proactively changing the experience of work, for example, by setting personal challenges or by competing with oneself, individuals set goals and may make the work activity more interesting and meaningful (Sonnentag, 2017).”