Employee Engagement and Innovative Work Behavior Among Chinese Millennials: Mediating and Moderating Role of Work-Life Balance and Psychological Empowerment

Abstract

Given the ever-changing business environment, organizations are forced to consider innovation as an essential prerequisite to enhance their efficiency, productivity, and sustainability. In this regard, organizations pay increased attention to enhancing employees' engagement (EE) and stimulating their innovative work behaviors (IWBs). Research emphasizes the importance of employees' IWBs in achieving competitive advantages and organizational sustainability. In this research, we address the question of whether employee engagement leads to stimulating IWBs of the Chinese millennial workforce in service industries. In addition, we explore the potential mediating effect of work-life balance (WLB) and the moderating influence of psychological empowerment (PE) on the relationship between EE and IWBs. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data from 372 Chinese senior employees working in the IT, trade, real estate, financial, and telecommunication industries. Our empirical findings showed that highly engaged employees are most likely to exhibit IWBs and maintain a WLB. In addition, the relationship between EE and IWB was partially mediated by WLB. Moreover, the interaction between EE and PE was found to strengthen employees' IWBs. Our study contributes to understanding the importance of EE as an essential prerequisite for millennials' IWBs and provides new insights for service organizations to encourage employees' IWBs. This study contributes to the human resource management field by offering valuable implications vis-à-vis how service organizations operating in a turbulent business environment stimulate the IWBs of their millennial workforce.

The smart effort to build up an innovative organizational culture in a skincare company

“…The findings of Aman (2019) have highlighted the importance of work engagement in enhancing innovation and discovery capabilities (Sherlock et al, 2022), emphasizing the importance of personal commitment in establishing firm innovativeness. Employees with high work engagement are likelier to exhibit IWB (Ali et al, 2022). Innovative work behavior multiculturally will form innovative organizational culture (Korzilius et al, 2017).…”

“…Motivating conditions such as work engagement stimulate employees' positive thinking, then increase their innovative work behavior (Sari et al, 2021). Highly involved employees tend to show how their behavior can be considered innovative (Ali et al, 2022).…”

Pengaruh Kepuasan Kerja, Makna Kerja, dan Resiliensi Terhadap Work Engagement Pekerja Milenial

“…Work engagement semakin membuat pekerja milenial lebih berkomitmen terhadap organisasinya (Walden et al, 2017). Pekerja milenial yang sangat terikat dengan pekerjaannya kemungkinan besar akan menunjukkan perilaku kerja inovatif dan mempertahankan keseimbangan antara kehidupan dan pekerjaan (Ali et al, 2022). Keterikatan kerja yang dimiliki pekerja milenial mampu meningkatkan tingkat kreatfitas dalam bekerja (Hui et al, 2021).…”

Impact of Employee Resilience and Job Engagement on Project Success: Mediating role of Innovative Work Behavior

“…While exploring the mediating role of psychological empowerment and job crafting between servant leadership and innovative work ) have found out that in service industry the customer expectations necessitate the employees innovative work behaviour all the more important and service leadership helps in fostering innovative work behaviour. (Ali, Li, & Qiu, 2022) states that it has been empirically established that the highly engaged employees are more likely to show innovative work behaviour and also keep good work life balance. Projects are temporary endeavour, the innovative work behaviour is very important aspect of project staff working on different project, the innovative work behaviour of employees is quite helpful in enhancing the innovativeness of project work and lead to successful project (Spanuth & Wald, 2017).…”