Defining and measuring work engagement : Bringing clarity to the concept

Engagement has become a rather popular term, first in business and consultancy, and recently also in academia. The origin of the term “employee engagement” is not entirely clear, but most likely it was first used in the 1990s by the Gallup organization (Buckingham & Coffman, 1999). Although the phrases “employee engagement” and “work engagement” are typically used interchangeably we prefer the latter because it is more specific. Namely, work engagement refers to the relationship of the employee with his or her work, whereas employee engagement may also include the relationship with the organization. As we will see in the section on “Engagement in business”, by including the relationship with the organization…