So far, the relationship between the various dimensions of social support and work engagement has not been widely examined in the literature. In this study, we examined the relationship of social support at work (from a colleague or supervisor) and social support in one’s private life (from a spouse, relative or friend) with various dimensions of work engagement (vigor, dedication and absorption). The participants (N = 5,259–5,376, 46 years‐old, 52.7% women) came from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 study. Social support was evaluated with the Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ), and work engagement was assessed with a short version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES‐9). The data were analyzed using linear regression analyses. The results showed that high social support at work (p < 0.001) and in one’s private life (p < 0.001) were associated with higher total work engagement, higher vigor, higher dedication, and higher absorption. These findings were adjusted for gender, marital status, education and occupational status. The results were essentially unchanged when they were additionally adjusted for job strain and effort‐reward imbalance. To conclude, our findings indicate that the experience of overall social support may play a role in the experience of work engagement.

Introduction. Social skills may prevent burnout and enhance engagement in students by increasing social support and improving relationships with peers and teachers. Method. This study explores the interrelation between self-reported social skills and experienced burnout and engagement among 351 university students (70.5% women, 29.5% men) in different study fields. The Study Burnout Inventory (SBI-9), the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-Student (UWES-S) and a social skills questionnaire were utilised. The data was analysed using linear regression analysis. Results. The results show an association between higher social skills and lower burnout and higher engagement. Higher engagement was also associated to lower burnout. Discussion and Conclusion. The findings imply that targeting social skills might offer a way to increase engagement and diminish burnout among students.

Promoting employees’ leisure-time and total physical activity may promote work engagement although this needs to be confirmed in longitudinal studies. Even light physical activity may foster work engagement, possibly by promoting general psychological well-being and recovery from work. Both self-reported and accelerometer-based physical activity are related to higher work engagement.