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There seem to be articles on this topic going back to 2010 and even before that. I’m not going to link them. There’s also probably half a million supposed “thought leadership” pieces on what exactly employee engagement is, with a newer term — “employee experience” — coming in periodically.
You’re talking about these terms now having been around for 9–10 years, if not longer. I still do not think many people (still predominantly men) who make decisions in companies understand what these things mean or why they are important. So let’s see if we could try that out a little bit.
What are some conventional definitions of “engagement?”
The one most know and understand is the idea of committing to marry someone. The whole reason “here’s my rock” pics pop on Instagram is (a) people like to gossip and debate on the potential value of nice things that women wear and (b) it’s a major life moment in that it’s a commitment for life, ideally. (My first attempt at this, which was done before a Motown-themed party in 2012, did not actually work out long-term, but in most cases, the “engagement” implies “commitment long-term.”)
OK, so that’s one definition: commitment. I think that applies to work too.
