Analysis of The Factors Influencing Employee Engagement In Company X

Abstract

Despite the increased importance of employee engagement and its role in contributing to increased labour productivity and competitive advantage, no recent Saudi Arabian study has adopted a case study approach to investigate the key factors influencing employee engagement in the Kingdom. This investigation focussed on Company X. This construction industry produces 10% of the total output (Gross Domestic Product) of Saudi Arabia (World Bank, 2020). Given the labour-intensive nature of the construction industry, employee engagement is a topic of relevance and, understandably, an increased interest in the company’s management. This research investigated the factors influencing employee engagement in Company X, and answered the research question, “How do value congruence, organisational support and self-evaluation as antecedents of employee engagement influence the level of engagement of Company X staff at work?” The case study approach used an online questionnaire to collect primary data. The use of the Regression and Pearson correlation techniques addressed the three research hypotheses. The first objective was to investigate the impact of value congruence between Company X’s values and its employees’ work engagement. The analysis confirmed that the value congruence (alignment between the company’s and employee values) positively impacted employee engagement. The second objective was to analyse the effect of organisational support offered by managers on employee engagement. The analysis confirmed a positive relationship between organisational support and employee engagement. The third objective was to evaluate the impact of self-evaluation on employee engagement. The investigation confirmed that self-evaluation is not a significant factor in influencing employee engagement. The study offers three evidence-based and costed recommendations based on the findings of the research. These include the need to revise and clearly communicate the company’s mission and vision, recognise the work undertaken by employees, and offer them learning and development opportunities to increase their motivation and engagement. Undertaking these recommendations will increase costs in the short-run. However, the improved engagement and the resultant improvement in labour productivity will more than offset the short-run increase in the financial outlay.