Relationship Between Perceived Contribution, Professional Respect, and Employee Engagement

• Main Author: Guarin, Rafael Eustacio
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: ScholarWorks 2019
• Subjects: Employee Engagement; leader-Member Exchange; LMX; Perceived Contribution; Professional Respect; Business; Labor Economics; Organizational Behavior and Theory
• Online Access: https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/7007; https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=8286&context=dissertations

Disengaged employees are a threat to a company's survival in a highly competitive world. Despite employee engagement benefits, the mediation of interactions between leaders and followers and the specific drivers of engagement remain poorly understood. This correlational study was grounded on leader member exchange (LMX) theory and examined the relationship between 2 dimensions of LMX (perceived contribution and professional respect) and employee engagement. In this study, 68 manufacturing employees from the southern region of the United States responded to 2 surveys to measure the LMX dimensions and the level of employee engagement. Using multiple regression analysis, the existence of a positive correlation, p < .001 and R2= .277, was demonstrated, which explained 28% of the variation in engagement. This research may serve as a roadmap for studying additional variables and providing workable tools for developing strategies to improve engagement in the workplace. The results of this study might contribute to positive social change by helping managers develop strategies to engage employees and reduce turnover, by improving the sense of stability for employees and their families, and by helping companies become more competitive and generate new jobs.