Crossover engagement

[Dharshani Thennakoon]

Hi all,

 

This is the very first discussion point that I'am sharing with you'll!!!! 

 

Cross over engagement is reffered to in the literature as the impact that one engaged individual or group can have on another.

I'am very interested in this area. But the issue is as to what extent we can measure such in quantative terms.

Can anyone suggest an appropriate method????

 

Regards

 

Dharshani

[Craig Althof]

Dharshani:

First, good luck with your dissertation. You have chosen a tough area!

Is engagement contagious? Can we "catch it" from others who are infected? I am assuming you are looking within an organization-among co-workers or department to department? Intuitively, yes, because if engagement has taken hold it probably means the environment and culture is suitable for engagement to grow. Data to verify that hunch? Hard to come by, I would think.

I wish I had an answer (I would be rich!) but I do have a related question. Does a highly engaged person at work have a better chance of being highly engaged in other areas of his / her life? In community activism or socially? Just a hypothesis: a person who has found high engagement in one part of their life will actively seek out the same thing in other areas because it feels good, it is addicting and we crave more.

I think we are vastly underestimating the power of engagement to make a significant impact beyond the workplace. First area of engagement matters little-it will ripple outward and touch other parts of our own lives as well as those around us.

But that sounds like a philosophy dissertation, not a data supported business paper. Again-good luck, let us know how you do in your research!

Craig
Flawless Execution

[Dharshani Thennakoon]

Thanks Craig for your viewpoints. Will definitely share the progress of my research with you'll.
I know it's a difficult area, but I don't want to give up as well. Hope more will contribute and comment their opinions with this regard.

Regards,
Dharshani

[Alison Godding]

Hi Nadika,

The following reseach might be helpful to you which is about the dynamic spread of happiness. Although happiness and engagement are clearly distinct things I suggest there are correlations between happy employees and engaged employees. This reserach describes how an individuals happiness is dependant on the happiness levels in their social network. From my experience I believe the same is true of engagement.

http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/337/dec04_2/a2338

I would also recommend you read the book Viral Change by Leando Herrero http://www.viralchange.net/

Good luck!

Alison

[Dharshani Thennakoon]

Thanks a lot Alison. you are correct. the Literature on engagement speaks of the fact that employees are happy when they are engaged.
therefore engagement and happiness do have a relationship.
Thanks again for the valuable conmments.
I will go through the research article.
Regards
Dharshani

[David Zinger]

Hello Dharshani:
I have not heard the term "cross over engagement." I love it. I think there is tremendous cross over impact and I look forward to learning more from you. I think Jane Dutton, from the Ross School of Business got at this a bit when she found the single biggest energizer in organizations was high-quality connections or interactions. Here is a link to here university page: http://webuser.bus.umich.edu/janedut/High_Quality_Connections.htm. I believe if you are not already familiar with her work what you will find helpful information from a research perspective.

[Dharshani Thennakoon]

thanks a lot for the interest shown David, and also for the resource details given.
I will try contacting Jane.
I'am proceeding with my research very successfully these days with the enormous help and encouragement from my research supervisor and the other lecturers at the university.
EEN has also contributed a lot to enlighten me more on this construct.
thanks loads once again.

With warm Regards
Dharshani

[Craig Althof]

Dharshani:

Just in case you haven't come across this research piece:
Crossover of Burnout and Engagement in Work Teams
Arnold B. Bakker Erasmus University Rotterdam
Hetty van Emmerik, Martin C. Euwema, Utrecht University

(now that I've given credit where due, I hope I can get away with just attaching the pdf document!)

Also interesting as long as I'm here:
TWYFORD RESEARCH: 2007. Overview of Literature on Employee “Interna...“There has been an increasing interest in employee engagement in recent years. However, much that is written is by consulting firms and is framed through a singularly US perspective. In general, these articles lack the academic rigor and practical depth to truly inform the discussion on the nature of employee engagement and the links between engagement and effectiveness. This literature overview forms part of the theoretical basis used by the Twyford organisation to formulate their understanding and approach to internal employee engagement.”

(interestingly, after that slam on consultants, is the fact that Twyford is a….consulting firm!)

[Dharshani Thennakoon]

Hi Craig,
Thanks loads for the articles. Will read through them. It looks very useful.
You are correct. I also have come across many researches conducted by consultancy firms and the degree to which we can use them in our studies is questionable but they do sometimes provide you with a generalized idea on certain areas..... :)

Regards
Dharshani

[Olaug Nørsterud Gardener]

Hi Dharshani,

Very interesting area to study - please share your results and any resources you that you find particularly useful!!!

Many parallels can be drawn between engagement and Mihály Csíkszentmihályi's theories on the "state of flow" - the "mental state of operation in which a person in an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and success in the process of the activity".
Most examples of flow tend to be with sport or music. If you had a look at team activities and bands (as supposed to solo-artists) there might be a way to look at how their mental state and resulting performance affects the other participants of the activity. (Hard to get into a state of flow if your team-mate has given up trying??!)

Just a thought :)

Ollie

[Dharshani Thennakoon]

Hi Ollie,

Thanks loads for your point of view,,,, It really does sound interesting..... the valuable comments by you will definitely add more to my little knowledge on the area!!!!!!! thanks once again..... I will definitely share my findings with you :)

Warm regards,
Dharshani.

[Craig Althof]

I went out to find more on Ollie's "man with the impossible name". Found this nice clip on flow-an 18min visit from MC

About the clip, from TED:
Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi asks, "What makes a life worth living?" Noting that money cannot make us happy, he looks to those who find pleasure and lasting satisfaction in activities that bring about a state of "flow."

About Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi has contributed pioneering work to our understanding of happiness, creativity, human fulfillment and the notion of "flow" -- a state of heightened focus and immersion

[Craig Althof]

Congratulations, Dharshani! David has picked this discussion for the "Pick Three" discussion. A great choice!

David noted in the writeup for his book Zengage: "I believe our engagement needs to go beyond employee engagement to embrace civic and global engagement." That is the larger application of crossover engagement, one that I am wholeheartedly on board with!

Related to the "larger application" is something I've been playing with, the concept of "greater good". The link is an EEN discussion, which includes a link to a group here on the EEN.

Noble work to be done all around us!