The Energizing Nature of Work Engagement: Toward a New Need-Based Theory of Work Motivation

Paul  Green; Eli  Finkel; Grainne  Fitzsimons; Francesca  Gino

Article | Research in Organizational Behavior | 2017

The Energizing Nature of Work Engagement: Toward a New Need-Based Theory of Work Motivation

by Paul Green, Eli Finkel, Grainne Fitzsimons and Francesca Gino

Abstract

We present theory suggesting that experiences at work that meet employees’ expectations of need fulfillment drive work engagement. Employees have needs (e.g., a desire to be authentic) and they also have expectations for how their job or their organization will fulfill them. We argue that experiences at work that confirm employees’ need fulfillment expectations yield a positive emotional state that is energizing, and that this energy is manifested in employees’ behaviors at work. Our theorizing draws on a review of the work engagement literature, in which we identify three core characteristics of work engagement: (a) a positive emotional state that (b) yields a feeling of energy and (c) leads to positive work-oriented behaviors. These key themes provide the foundation for further theorizing suggesting that interactions at work confirm or disconfirm employees’ need fulfillment expectations, leading to different levels of engagement. We extend our theorizing to argue that confirmation, or disconfirmation, of different need expectations will yield emotional experience of varying magnitudes, with confirmation of approach-oriented need expectations exerting stronger effects than the confirmation of avoidance-oriented need expectations. We close with a review suggesting that organizational contextual features influence the expression of these needs, sustaining or undermining the positive emotional experiences that fuel work engagement.

Keywords: needs; motivation; work engagement; disengagement; Authenticity; Self-Expression; Employees; Motivation and Incentives; Behavior; Human Needs;

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Green, Paul, Eli Finkel, Grainne Fitzsimons, and Francesca Gino. "The Energizing Nature of Work Engagement: Toward a New Need-Based Theory of Work Motivation." Research in Organizational Behavior 37 (2017): 1–18.

Air pollution is a serious problem that influences billions of people globally. Although the health and environmental costs of air pollution are well known, the present research investigates its ethical costs. We propose that air pollution can increase criminal and unethical behavior by increasing anxiety. Analysis of a 9-year panel of 9,360 U.S. cities found that air pollution predicted six different categories of crime; these analyses accounted for a comprehensive set of control variables (e.g., city and year fixed effects, population, law enforcement) and survived various robustness checks (e.g., non-parametric bootstrapped standard errors, balanced panel). Three subsequent experiments involving American and Indian participants established the causal effect of psychologically experiencing a polluted vs. clean environment on unethical behavior. Consistent with our theoretical perspective, anxiety mediated this effect. Air pollution not only corrupts people’s physical health, but can also contaminate their morality.

Article | Management Science | February 2018

Maintaining Beliefs in the Face of Negative News: The Moderating Role of Experience

Bradley R. Staats, Diwas S. KC and F. Gino

Many models in operations management involve dynamic decision making that assumes optimal updating in response to information revelation. However, behavioral theory suggests that rather than updating their beliefs, individuals may persevere in their prior beliefs. In particular, we examine how individuals’ prior experiences and the experiences of those around them alter their belief perseverance in operational decisions after the revelation of negative news. We draw on an exogenous announcement of negative news by the Food and Drug Administration and explore how it affects interventional cardiologists deciding between two types of cardiac stents. Analyzing 147,000 choices over six years, we find that individuals do respond to negative news by using the focal production tool less often. However, we find that both individuals’ own experiences and others’ experiences alter their responses. Moreover, although individual and other experience act as substitutes prior to negative news, we find that this substitution curtails significantly following the negative announcement. Finally, we find that experience leads doctors to discount negative news more rapidly over time. Two lab studies replicate our main findings and show that behavioral biases due to differences in perceptions of expertise drive the effect. Our research contributes not only to operations research, but also to the practice of health care and operations.

Keywords: Information; Announcements; Service Operations; Decision Making; Medical Specialties; Experience and Expertise; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry;

Citation:

Staats, Bradley R., Diwas S. KC, and F. Gino. "Maintaining Beliefs in the Face of Negative News: The Moderating Role of Experience." Management Science 64, no. 2 (February 2018): 804–824. View Details

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The Energizing Nature of Work Engagement: Toward a New Need-Based Theory of Work Motivation

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