Employee engagement and management standards: a concurrent evaluation.

BACKGROUND: The UK Health & Safety Executive's Management Standards Indicator Tool (MSIT) has been used to assess areas of work design, which may act as psychosocial hazards leading to burnout. These have not been assessed as predictors of employee engagement.

AIMS: To determine the utility of the MSIT in evaluating employee engagement as measured by the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES).

METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of employees from two sales organizations in London was performed using the MSIT and UWES. MSIT scores were analysed stratifying medium-high versus low engagement. Multivariate linear regression evaluated the association of all MSIT scores with UWES factors.

RESULTS: Control, managerial support, peer support and employee role differed by engagement level. Demands, peer support and role exceeded MSIT benchmark guidance that would warrant urgent improvement. Role ambiguity was the only factor significantly associated with all subdomains of engagement.

CONCLUSIONS: Role appears to play a major part in determining employee engagement. Assessment of the relationship between factors measured by the MSIT and UWES requires further investigation in wider organizational settings, particularly the influence of employee role on positive psychological outcomes.