HRM

Session 11

Vijayta Doshi
Schaufeli and Bakker (2004) defined work engagement
as “cognitive-affective motivation at work”
characterized by:

ü Vigour: At my work, I feel energized.

ü Dedication: My job inspires me. I want to give my
best.
ü Absorption: At work, I forget everything else around
me.

Employee
Engagement
Asian Paints: Gaining Competitive Advantage
through Employee Engagement

Why would Asian Paints like its

employees to be Engaged?
The Outcomes of
Employee Engagement

• High job satisfaction

• High organizational commitment
• Better employee performance
• Better employee retention
• Better customer satisfaction
• More profitability
Asian Paints

Were the employees engaged or not?

Provide instances of Vigour, Dedication or

Absorption or the lack of them from the
case?
Dimensions of Engagement or Disengagement at
Asian Paints

Instances From the Case Dimension

Business-like behaviour Lack of Dedication
That’s not my job Lack of Dedication
Stretch their work boundary Vigour
Skip meals Absorption
Work relentlessly Vigour
Fix someone else’s mistake Dedication
Do strictly what had been in their job contract. Lack of Dedication
Work for only a limited number of hours Lack of Vigour
Tremendous efforts to develop and maintain relationships Absorption
Develop personal rapport with customers Dedication
Proactive Dedication
Involvement Absorption
Help a co-worker Dedication
Go beyond the call of the duty Dedication
Waste time near water coolers Lack of Vigour
Invest extra effort Vigour
Invest brainpower at work Absorption
Sleep in the office, if needed, to complete the task Dedication
Employee Engagement

Engagement is voluntary, is Requires employees’

employee’s prerogative, and immense investment in
is not mandated by a job physical, cognitive and
description affective efforts.
 Why will employees
demonstrate engaged
behaviors?
Psychological Contract
• A set of expectations that are exchanged between the parties – the
mutual obligations.

• Transactional psychological contract

• A fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work.
• Short-term and monetizable exchanges

• Relational psychological contract

• Valued as an employee
• Long-term focus
Asian Paints: Gaining Competitive Advantage
through Employee Engagement

What implicit and explicit

expectations do the employees
have of the organization?
Relational Expectations of Employees at Asian Paints Transactional Expectations of Employees at Asian Paints
Working for ethical organization Physical working conditions
Employer brand Timely payment of salary
Career development Resources for completion
Growth Job security
Fair appraisal policy Training
Feedback mechanism Opportunity to communicate
Organizational support for personal and professional issues
Immediate leaders’ support for personal and professional
issues

Supportive supervisor
Mentor
Emotional connect
Recognition
Public appreciation
• Psychological contract breach negatively impacts employee
engagement

• When employees perceive that an organization is not living up to it’s

commitment they reciprocate in the same manner by not putting in
those extra efforts and vice-versa.
-
Psychological contract Employee Engagement
+
Asian Paints: Gaining Competitive Advantage
through Employee Engagement

What measures should Iyer

suggest to the senior
management?
What happened?

Iyer shared the findings of the Appreciative Inquiry with senior management. He was
of the view that the company should be willing to make some policy changes to
foster stronger bonds with employees and increase their engagement. However, the
senior management had other ‘business priorities’ and not much changed at the
employees’ end. For some personal reasons, Iyer quit Asian Paints soon after.