Do “decent work” dimensions lead to work engagement? Empirical evidence from higher education institutions in India

Abstract

Purpose The study aims to investigate the impact of “decent work” dimensions on faculty members’ work engagement levels in the higher education institutions in India. Design/methodology/approach Data were obtained from 293 faculty members working in higher education institutes in India. The proposed study hypotheses were tested by deploying the statistical technique of multiple regression analysis using statistical package for social sciences Version-24. Findings Results demonstrated that of the five dimensions of “decent work,” only “access to health care” and “complementary values” were significant predictors of work engagement. “Adequate compensation,” “free time and rest” and “safe interpersonal working conditions” as dimensions of “decent work” were not found to be significantly related to work engagement. Research limitations/implications Findings encourage education policymakers to implement a “decent work” policy for faculty members with greater emphasis on ensuring workplace-fit and provision of adequate health-care facilities to keep the workforce engaged. Originality/value It is one of the few studies conducted in the South-Asian context that highlight “decent work” as a crucial job resource, useful in enhancing the work engagement of faculty members in higher education institutions.

Validating the decent work scale incorporated with a social recognition component among young adult social workers

“…Third, this study reveals the associations of decent work with three important concepts widely used in vocational health psychology, namely job demands, job resources, and work engagement and the findings of this study also support decent work as a distinctive concept from job demands, job resources and work engagement. Consistent with the findings of recent studies ( Kashyap et al, 2021 ; Xu et al, 2022 ) which revealed that decent work was positively associated with work engagement, this study advances our understanding regarding the relationships of decent work with a social recognition component with job demands, job resources, and work engagement. The discriminant validity of decent work in relation to these concepts can help differentiate the psychology of working theory from other perspectives in vocational health psychology.…”

Fostering employee work engagement and sustainable employment during COVID-19 crisis through HR practices, employee psychological well-being and psychological empowerment

“…The HR literature has consistently highlighted the importance of employee work engagement and high performance work (Aboramadan et al, 2020;Jurek and Besta, 2021;Kashyap et al, 2022). Nevertheless, organizations are facing complex challenges because of the unprecedented crisis of COVID-19, globalization, environmental changes and expectations of high-performance work (Azizi et al, 2021;Jurek and Besta, 2021;Sarkar, 2022).…”

“…Employee work engagement is defined as employees enthusiasm, high energy, concentration and positive state of mind at the workplace (Anlesinya et al, 2023;Venz et al, 2018). Similarly, there is strong evidence in the literature that HR practices, such as compensation and training, have a direct influence on employee work engagement (Aboramadan et al, 2020;Ferenhof et al, 2015;Jurek and Besta, 2021;Kashyap et al, 2022). The term compensation refers to characteristics that talk about bounces, rewards, financial incentives and growth in salary (Said et al, 2023;Ybema et al, 2020).…”

“…The term compensation refers to characteristics that talk about bounces, rewards, financial incentives and growth in salary (Said et al, 2023;Ybema et al, 2020). Past studies have clearly revealed the positive impact of compensation on employee work engagement (Aboramadan et al, 2020;Jurek and Besta, 2021;Kashyap et al, 2022). Extending this employee training is another important HR practice that encourages and engages employees in new activities at the workplace during crises (Memon et al, 2016;Risley, 2020;Sun et al, 2022a).…”

“…The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has largely affected employee psychological well-being, resulting in less productivity at the workplace (Dirani et al , 2020). Therefore, employee engagement at the workplace has become one of the core corporate agendas among practitioners to discuss (Kashyap et al , 2022). According to Khoreva and Wechtler (2018), traditional economies are now shifting into knowledge-based economies.…”