Doctor of Education , University of Dayton, 2023, Educational Administration

The purpose of this study is to identify and evaluate how organizations are able to create a sense of community and support teams within remote work environments, especially within times of crisis. The study emphasizes the need for BAC Consulting leadership teams to assess and understand the demographic and cultural makeup of the organization as a means for determining its specific needs. Details from BAC Consulting Baseline Sustainment team members' lived experiences will also be gathered to gain an understanding of the individual and collective challenges they have faced as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The goal of the study is to aid in the fostering of a sustainable partnership between employees and leadership as they work to improve employee engagement and create a thriving organizational culture. This qualitative participatory action research study will add to the developing knowledge base while also being a useful tool for administrators interested in making impactful organizational change during times of crises. This study utilized Funds of Knowledge (FoK) and William Kahn's Theory of Employee Engagement as guiding frameworks for improving the employee experience and creating a greater sense of belonging. To collect relevant qualitative data, participants in the study were interviewed individually and also contributed to a working group session. The results were analyzed and common themes were identified. The information was valuable in developing an effective action plan and organizational checklist. These tools were designed to aid in fostering organizational change by providing greater access to training and company resources while increasing employee engagement and team collaboration.

Committee: Matthew Witenstein Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Elizabeth Essex Ph.D. (Committee Member); Meredith Montgomery Ed.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Management; Organization Theory; Organizational Behavior

Master of Science (M.S.), Xavier University, 2023, Psychology

Employee wellbeing is an important construct that can affect several organization-wide outcomes. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of one potential predictor of wellbeing, namely recognition. This study also examined if employee engagement moderated the relationship between recognition and wellbeing. It was hypothesized that participants in the recognition conditions would report significantly higher levels of wellbeing than those in the control condition. It was also hypothesized that engagement would moderate the relationship between recognition and wellbeing, such that this relationship would be stronger for participants high on engagement. Participants were first given a measure of engagement and were then randomly assigned to one of four scripts depicting a conversation with a hypothetical manager in which they were received one of four conditions of recognition: two forms of recognition (acknowledgement and gratitude), only acknowledgement, only gratitude, or neither form of recognition. Then, they completed a measure of wellbeing based on the interaction they read about with their hypothetical manager, as well as a demographics form. Finally, they were debriefed. Results showed that participants who received recognition did not report significantly higher wellbeing than those who did not receive recognition, and that engagement did not significantly moderate this relationship. However, engagement was positively and significantly related to wellbeing. These findings suggest that a simple “thank you” or “good job” statement may not be enough to enhance wellbeing, and that managers should focus on increasing employee engagement instead. Nevertheless, future research should be conducted to re-examine these relationships using employees in an actual organization that has an existing recognition program.

Committee: Dalia Diab Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Morrie Mullins Ph.D. (Committee Member); Nattalya Avila M.S. (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Doctor of Healthcare Administration (D.H.A.), Franklin University, 2023, Health Programs

Employee engagement seems to be at the core of employee productivity and organizational success. Healthcare organizations that lack employee engagement often experience adverse impacts on employee satisfaction and organizational outcomes. This dissertation was an exploration of how executive leadership drives employee engagement in a managed care organization. Semi-structured, qualitative interviews were conducted with 26 executive leaders within a population of 250 executive leadership staff employed at a large managed care organization within the United States. The study examines employee engagement from an executive leadership perspective to understand how their attitudes may influence employee engagement. Findings revealed key insights regarding leaders' perceptions of employee engagement.

Committee: Bora Pajo (Committee Chair); Alyncia Bowen (Committee Member); Mary Bynum (Committee Member) Subjects: Health Care Management

Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.), Franklin University, 2023, Business Administration

During the COVID-19 pandemic, organizations around the world began encouraging the maximization of telework opportunities. As a result of this increased shift in working environments, managerial staff developed concerns associated with how the personality traits of current and future employees might impact their job engagement levels. This research study uses the Big Five personality traits of openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism, to predict how engaged employees are in cognitive, emotional, and physical dimensions of employee engagement. Even when the pandemic declared to be over, managers within the education, healthcare, and government industries (among many others) continue to grapple with what may become the “new normal” for the modern-day workforce. A quantitative approach was used to design a survey that incorporated a combination of the Big Five Inventory (BFI) and Job Engagement Scale (JES) and was deployed for data collection among various professional organizations. The findings of this study suggest positive correlations between the five personality traits and the three dimensions of employee engagement. The results of all five research questions indicate that there is a statistically significant relationship between the dependent and independent variables, ultimately concluding that openness has a positive correlation with cognitive engagement, conscientiousness has a positive correlation with cognitive engagement, extraversion has a positive correlation with physical engagement, agreeableness has a positive correlation with cognitive engagement, and low neuroticism has a positive correlation with emotional engagement.

Committee: Brenda Jones (Committee Chair); Michelle Geiman (Committee Member); Beverly Smith (Committee Member) Subjects: Business Administration

Doctor of Education, Ashland University, 2020, College of Education

This dissertation explores the leadership strategies that, according to those interviewed, are most successful for engaging with a multigenerational workforce. Current research shows the multifaceted dynamics of multiple generations on a single team; each generation places value on different behaviors and attitudes in the workplace which impacts engagement (Bano, Vyas, & Gupta, 2015; Barbuto, Fritz, Matkin, & Marx, 2007; Becton, Walker, & Jones-Farmer, 2014; Pitt-Catsouphes & Matz-Costa, 2008; Twenge & Campbell, 2008). Due to these differences, various generational cohorts require specific leadership styles to support full engagement, requiring leaders to understand how to manage a multigenerational workforce in a way that engages each individual and increase engagement (Becton et al., 2014; Pitt-Catsouphes & Matz-Costa, 2009). This dissertation utilized Strauss-Howe Generational Cohort theory, Kahn's engagement theory, and Mannheim's Generation theory for the framework for the study (Howe & Strauss, 1991; Kahn, 1990; Mannheim, 1952). The qualitative study provides an understanding of the difference between various generational cohorts and how successful leaders effectively increase engagement and outlines which leadership strategies are most successful when engaging with a multigenerational workforce.

Committee: James Olive Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Donna Breault Ph.D. (Committee Member); Mary McDermott Ed.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Labor Relations; Management; Organizational Behavior

Doctor of Education (EdD), Wright State University, 2019, Leadership Studies

Since the early 2000s, employee engagement has become a growing point of interest for scholars, organizations, and consultants alike due to its association with a variety of organizational outcomes such as job satisfaction, burnout, and turnover intent. Though there is much focus surrounding the measurement of employee engagement within the literature (Saks, 2019; Saks & Gruman, 2014), there is a notable absence in the literature related to a leader's own level of engagement. This study aimed to address this gap, utilizing the Employee Engagement Scale (EES; Shuck, Adelson, & Reio, 2017), which was developed in response to the lack of a preferred employee engagement measure grounded in Kahn's (1990) framework of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral engagement. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to evaluate if the EES could assess leader-level engagement on data from 147 formal leaders. Although the model goodness-of-fit indices did not provide irrefutable evidence that leader engagement could be assessed with the 12-item, three-factor structure of the EES, review of regression weights and reliability coefficients provided evidence for the overall structure of the measure, and modification indices provided opportunities to improve the EES model with a sample of leaders. Future research focused on leader-level engagement and its impact on organizational outcomes would benefit both academics and human resources practitioners.

Committee: Yoko Miura Ed.D. (Committee Co-Chair); Sharon Heilmann Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair); Adedeji Badiru Ph.D. (Committee Member); Alan Nash B.A. (Committee Member); Suzanne Franco Ed.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Educational Leadership

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2008, Leadership Studies

The purpose of the present study was to explore relationships between personality and engagement among human services professionals and paraprofessionals. In particular, the present study investigated relationships between the five factor model of personality (FFM) and William Kahn's model of employee engagement encompassing physical (energy, effort), emotional (enthusiasm, pride), and cognitive (concentration, focus) components. The independent variables were five personality traits: need for stability (tolerance to stress, tendency to worry), extraversion (sociability, enthusiasm, energy), originality (imagination, complexity, tolerance to “newness”), accommodation (service orientation, comfort with “not having one's way”), and consolidation (focus, concentration, discipline). These traits were measured by the WorkPlace Big Five ProFile™ or WPB5 (Howard and Howard, 2001). The dependent variable was employee engagement as measured by Bruce Rich's (2006) Job Engagement Survey (JES).The present study sought to answer the following four questions: a) What is the strength and direction of the relationships between the five factors of personality and employee engagement, b) what is the combination of personality trait scores that best predicts engagement, c) what are the differences in employee engagement across the personalities of employees in the three organizations, and d) what are the differences in employee engagement across the personalities and between the paraprofessionals and professionals. A single survey combining the WPB5 and the JES questions was electronically mailed to 890 human services professionals employed by three social services agencies in the Midwest of the United States. A total of 420 surveys were returned, with an overall response rate of 47 percent. The results of the present study suggested that two personality traits are significant predictors of engagement: extraversion and consolidation. These two traits were also positively correlate (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Patrick Pauken (Advisor); Janet Hartley (Committee Member); Gregg Brownell (Committee Member); Craig Mertler (Committee Member); Lillian Schumacher (Committee Member) Subjects: Business Community; Business Education; Education; Management; Personality; Psychology; Social Work

Doctor of Business Administration, Cleveland State University, 2024, Monte Ahuja College of Business

The population of societies across the globe is continually aging, and a larger number of older adult individuals have greater medical care needs. Medical advancements have allowed for more individuals to be successfully cared for in a home setting. Outside of the older adult population, adults and children with disabilities also demand care at home. However, the home healthcare industry in the U.S. is not prepared to meet the demands of these populations. The need for non-healthcare professionals to act as the caregivers of their loved ones will increase, and it is necessary to understand the burden these caregivers will face. Research has not yet examined the relationship between non-professional caregivers who have no formal healthcare background and provide care to a loved one in a home setting and their work experience. This study measures non-professional caregiver burden and tests its relationship to employee engagement and turnover intention. Burnout is tested as a mediator in these relationships, and gender and education level are tested as moderators. Results, contributions, and implications are discussed.

Committee: Tracy Porter (Committee Chair); Benjamin Baran (Committee Member); Sorin Valcea (Committee Member); Cheryl Rathert (Committee Member) Subjects: Health Care; Management

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2023, Leadership and Change

Mental healthcare organizations have a reputation for being unhealthy places to work. The irony of this reputation is keenly felt by its workforce who report unsustainable workloads, high levels of stress, and lack of support or engagement from higher-level leadership. As a mental healthcare provider now in a position of leadership, who has worked across all levels of care within the sector, it was of interest to me to explore how a mental health organization can become a healthier and more sustainable place to work. I approached this study with the assumption that if an organization was healthy and intentional about health in its operation, this would be beneficial to the members of that organization, to the individuals whom the organization serves, and to the organization itself. This study endeavored to answer the question of how mental health organizations can become healthier places to work, considering both the factors that are within the control of mental healthcare organizations as well as those that are not. This study built on prior research by considering multiple factors identified in the research as functioning in relationship to each other. This is a development on previous research which has predominantly investigated aspects of work environment, mental healthcare worker experience, and patient care as siloed elements. Informed by the literature review, an Action Research study was developed and conducted. Study participants represented a cross-section of work experiences within mental healthcare organizations ranging from direct care providers to program directors and administrators. Participants engaged in discussion groups for the purpose of perspective sharing across experiences in order to collaboratively investigate the question of how mental health organizations could become healthier places to work. Key findings of the study were that practical solutions to improve the work environment are feasible and accessible, and not n (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Donna Ladkin Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Lize Booysen DBL (Committee Member); Michelle Pensec-Salyers Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Health Care; Health Care Management; Management; Mental Health

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2022, Leadership and Change

In light of the current economic conditions in the United States brought about by the COVID pandemic, the war for talent is at a high point, and the acquisition and retention of qualified employees are highly competitive. Because employees want to feel challenged by their work and need to feel a sense of belonging, organizations that create engaging and inclusive cultures are at an advantage and need to understand how leadership behaviors can impact these cultures. This three-phased exploratory concurrent mixed-methods research study posed two questions to bring light to the relationship between Inclusive Leadership, Employee Engagement, and individual or social identity. The first question explored whether there is a relationship between the dimensions of Inclusive Leadership as related to aspects of Employee Engagement. The second is whether there are differences in the relationship between Inclusive Leadership and Employee Engagement by individual or social identity. The research findings indicate that inclusive leadership is related to certain aspects of employee engagement and provide a pragmatic model for use by Human Resources Professionals in the hiring and retaining of qualified talent within organizations. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA (https://aura.antioch.edu/) and OhioLINK ETD Center (https://etd.ohiolink.edu).

Committee: A.E. Lize Booysen DBL (Committee Chair); Beth Mabry PhD (Committee Member); Allan Church PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Behavioral Sciences; Cultural Resources Management; Management; Organizational Behavior; Social Research

Doctor of Education (EdD), Wright State University, 2022, Leadership Studies

The study outlines the path that the researcher took to investigate the phenomenon of nomophobia as it relates to employee engagement. In the first two chapters, the researcher outlines a synopsis of the problem, presents gleanings from a review of pertinent literature on employee engagement and nomophobia, and articulates a basic conceptual framework for the study. The researcher also shares how the data was collected and analyzed in the third chapter of this document. In the fourth chapter, the method is articulated and finally, results and recommendations are shared in the last chapter.

Committee: Corey Seemiller Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Dan Noel Ph.D. (Committee Member); Brenda Kraner Ph.D. (Committee Member); David Bright Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Educational Leadership; Management; Occupational Psychology; Organization Theory; Organizational Behavior

Doctor of Philosophy, University of Akron, 2021, Integrated Bioscience

Biomimicry has become increasingly popular within corporate R&D departments, as a design process to drive sustainable innovation. However, there is limited research to inform best practice. In addition, given the current climate crisis government regulations, consumers, and stakeholders are demanding that corporate sustainability practices advance beyond business-orientated sustainable innovation to include ecology orientated sustainability practices. Business as usual in the pursuit of profit does not address the environmental damage of our consumer society or support the transformational shift in the human-environmental relationship that is required to combat the climate crisis. This body of work begins to reveal the potential of biomimicry to advance a diversity of corporate sustainability goals from sustainable innovation, sustainable marketing and even human resource metrics regarding employee engagement, retention and recruitment. This work also provides evidence for biomimicry practice to advance corporate sustainability to include ecological-orientated practices. Through design, by advancing biomimicry as an approach to sustainable innovation, and through behaviour, by intrinsically motivating corporate practitioners to engage in collaborative and immersive biomimicry practice to reconnect to the natural world to begin to transform the human-environment relationship and address our climate crisis.

Committee: Peter H. Niewiarowski (Advisor); Joelle D. Elicker (Committee Member); Tom Weis (Committee Member); Jacquelyn Nagel (Committee Member); Gary M. Holliday (Committee Member) Subjects: Behavioral Psychology; Climate Change; Cognitive Psychology; Conservation; Curriculum Development; Education; Environmental Education; Environmental Studies; Experimental Psychology; Organizational Behavior; Sustainability; Teaching

Doctor of Management, Case Western Reserve University, 2020, Weatherhead School of Management

While mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are attractive strategic choices for many organizations seeking to expand or to increase their value and market power, the rate of failure of these efforts is significant. The human side of M&A remains the most important but often overlooked factor with a significant impact on M&A outcomes. This study employs an exploratory sequential mixed methods design to explore how managers address the factors that influence M&A outcomes and the factors that shape between employer and employee outcomes. The study was conducted using two inquiries (qualitative and quantitative). The greater purpose of this study was to integrate the previous qualitative and quantitative phases to derive more in-depth insight into the human side of M&A outcomes. Ultimately, we found that most managers leverage communication, employee engagement, encouragement, autonomy, empowerment, workplace relationships, and employee wellbeing to address human capital challenges influencing M&A outcomes in the qualitative study. Perceived organizational support (POS) and reciprocity emerged as the primary mediators between employer and employee M&A outcomes.

Committee: Richard Boland PhD (Advisor); Kalle Lyytinen PhD (Advisor); James Gaskin PhD (Advisor) Subjects: Business Costs; Social Research

Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A.), Franklin University, 2021, Business Administration

The following study addresses research gaps concerning the impact of employee engagement and empowerment on performance management in non-profit and community theater organizations. Each concept of engagement, empowerment, and performance management addresses the need for communication, support, and encouragement in the organization to achieve the organizational goals. Three theaters in Columbus, Ohio, were chosen to examine the connection between standard business practices in the creative industry and the impact these concepts have on these organizations Through a series of 24 individual semi-structured interviews with a group of staff and volunteers from each of the theaters, the information was gathered to explore the impact of engagement and empowerment on the staff's performance through leaders' and employees' perspectives. The interviews revealed the requirement for staff and volunteers emotional needs to be met to gain the level of productivity and commitment required by the performance industry for a theater to be successful. This revelation led to the development of a potential new theory, the Emotional Fulfillment Performance Theory, influenced by Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs Theory. The study attempts to understand better how common business concepts correlate to the creative industry, specifically performance theater, and provide more research to the performance management fields in an emotionally powered work environment. Future research indicates scholars should look more into professional theaters with the same concept connection, oversaturation of community theaters, and a quantitative study of the same concepts for further findings validation.

Committee: Tim Reymann (Committee Chair); Bora Pajo (Committee Member); Jeffrey Ferezan (Committee Member) Subjects: Arts Management; Business Administration; Management; Performing Arts; Theater

Doctor of Management, Case Western Reserve University, 2021, Weatherhead School of Management

This paper integrates data collection, analysis, and findings to obtain insights into the organizational dynamics that impact supply chain management performance. In an initial qualitative research, I first investigated organizational vulnerabilities to disruptive events in the food industry that impact organizational outcomes. I interviewed twenty-seven directors of operations, logistics managers and front-line crew members. In the second study, I distributed a self-administered quantitative survey among 144 operation directors, operation managers, crew members, logistics managers and truck drivers; I investigate the effects of information technology, forecasting accuracy and organizational effectiveness impacting supply chain management performance and employee engagement, respectively. I found in the qualitative strand that during disruptive events, crisis leads to unethical decision making, crisis drives innovative thinking, and the important of cognitive factor. I developed a framework for disaster management performance prior, during, and after turbulent events, and I ask: To what extent do effective managers and decision-makers impact supply chain management performance and employee engagement outcomes? I used structural equation modeling to examine the hypothesized model.

Committee: Kalle Lyytinen Ph.D. (Advisor) Subjects: Business Administration; Business Education; Management; Operations Research; Quantitative Psychology

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2019, Leadership and Change

Four decades of research on power distance have been applied to cross-cultural leadership studies on an inter-national level. A quantitative investigation was conducted to analyze a uniquely American narrative of power distance, which was developed through a post-structural epistemology. Using ANTi-History theory, endorsement of the Great Man Theory was argued to be a leadership ethos that is related to American power distance value. The GLOBE project's Power Distance Subscale, Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner's Achievement Versus Ascription Scale, and an author-developed scale for self-reported endorsement of the Great Man Theory was deployed to investigate culturally contingent leadership ethos on an intra-national level within a representative U.S. American sample. The study was able to validate the Social Authority Scale, using items from the Power Distance Subscale and Achievement Versus Ascription Scale. Demographic measurements of 645 participants from a convenience sample were analyzed to understand how social identity influenced this leadership construct. Significant variations were found based upon American social identities. Implications for intra-national cross-cultural leadership theory are discussed, as well as empirical and theoretical based implications for leadership practitioners. This dissertation is available in open access at AURA: Antioch University Repository and Archive, http://aura.antioch.edu/ and OhioLINK ETD Center, https://etd.ohiolink.edu/

Committee: Lize Booysen DBL (Committee Chair); Carol Baron PhD (Committee Member); Brandelyn Tosolt PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: American Studies; Management; Organization Theory; Social Research

Doctor of Management, Case Western Reserve University, 2010, Weatherhead School of Management

A vast literature on the emotional intelligence (EI) has studied comparatively little teams. What little exists emphasizes that job-related factors influence employee engagement. However, a variety of factors can contribute to more engaged employees. In this paper I report findings of a qualitative inquiry involving thirty-six (36) members of twelve (12) IT teams – half of them effective and half less so – that explored the relationships between team EI and team performance. Trust, conflict resolution skills and team communication ? characteristics of individual EI ? were seen to differentiate effective and less effective teams, as is the ability to adapt a shared vision. Findings support that teams, like individuals, exhibit emotional intelligence, and that it influences how they function and to what effect. We further adopt a contingency perspective and investigate interactions between individual characteristics and cultural and job related factors as to determine their effect on employee engagement. Survey data from 231 employees in two organizations indicate that individual factors moderate the effects of structural and cultural characteristics on job and organizational engagement.

Committee: Richard Boyatzis, Ph.D. (Advisor); Nick Berente, Ph.D. (Advisor) Subjects: Communication; Organizational Behavior

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2019, Leadership and Change

This study explored the nature and significance of a common but widely misunderstood phrase encountered in Australia: The Good Bloke. Underlying this enquiry was awareness, based on the researcher's personal and professional experience, that the idea of a Good Bloke powerfully influences individual perceptions of leaders in Australian small-to-mid sized for-profit firms. The study commenced with an exploration of the origins and history of the phrase, tracing it to the 1788 arrival of a disproportionately male Anglo-Celtic population was composed significantly of transported convicts. The language and mores of this unique settler population evolved for two centuries based on relationships, primarily among males, where Good Bloke characteristics were key to success and survival. This research entailed a qualitative phase leading to a detailed quantitative analysis. The qualitative Phase 1 included semi-structured interviews and focus group research to broadly identify ostensible characteristics and qualities of the Good Bloke. A survey was administered to 354 Australians. Results were subjected exploratory and then, confirmatory factor analysis, yielding three main factors of a Good Bloke: being relatable, fair/inclusive, and affable. A major additional finding was that while both men and women manifest these qualities, the Good Bloke still has an inherently gendered nature, a legacy of Australian history. A second survey of 301 Australians from small to medium enterprises was followed by structural equation modelling to explore the connection between Good Bloke factors and employees' experiences of engagement, satisfaction, and commitment. Implications are discussed for the Good Bloke ideal's continuing relevance, including appreciation of differential impact on gender and other categories that make many contemporary Australians less readily perceived as Good Blokes. I conclude that the term Good Bloke can have a constructive role in Australian culture. The key chal (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Elizabeth Holloway Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Tony Lingham Ph.D. (Committee Member); Stephen Bygrave Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Behavioral Psychology; Behavioral Sciences; British and Irish Literature; Business Education; Cultural Anthropology; Gender Studies; History of Oceania; Literature of Oceania; Management; Modern Language; Personal Relationships; Personality; Psychology; Sociology

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2019, Psychology/Industrial-Organizational

Workplace interruptions are a job demand that are becoming a reality of work, primarily because of advances in technology and increased connectivity. This is particularly true for knowledge workers who are constantly connected, largely autonomous, and often flexible to work anywhere, anytime. This is concerning as research shows that interruptions negatively influence employee's satisfaction, performance, and well-being (e.g. Bailey & Konstan, 2006; Eyrolle & Cellier, 2000; Trafton, Altmann, Brock, & Mintz, 2003). However, through the evolution of the Job-Demands Resource Model, it was found that job demands may not be all bad. Demands that are perceived as challenging rather than hindering, motivate employees thus influencing performance and well-being outcomes like employee engagement. The present study examined whether task-based interruptions that have inherently motivating qualities positively affect employee engagement. Additionally, I assessed whether the context (frequency, length, and unexpectedness) of task-based interruptions negatively influence engagement. Results of this study suggested that neither the frequency with which one is interrupted nor the length of time it takes to resolve a task-based interruption influenced engagement. However, the extent to which a task-based interruption was unexpected did negatively relate to engagement in that those that were more unexpected were more detrimental to this construct. All of the job characteristics tested, positively and significantly related to engagement suggesting that the extent to which interruptions provide opportunities for challenging and interesting work may increase employee investment and motivation. Overall, this study suggests that all interruptions are not inherently negative or harmful to employees. Rather, there are conditions under which knowledge workers may benefit from the participation in task-based interruptions. Future research is needed to better understand the boundary conditions (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Margaret Brooks Dr. (Advisor); Dena Eber Dr. (Other); Clare Barrett Dr. (Committee Member); Eric Dubow Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 2019, EDU Physical Activity and Educational Services

Organizations today are struggling to attract and retain an engaged workforce. Those organizations who succeed experience an increase in job performance, productivity, customer satisfaction, and employee retention. There is a growing interest in identifying the key factors that contribute to a work environment that is conducive to employee engagement. This study was designed to examine the relative importance of the psychological conditions necessary for employee engagement: a sense of meaningfulness, psychological safety and psychological availability. This study examined engagement in the context of the job itself, the relationships in the work environment, and what the individual brings to the job. The specific predictors of employee engagement examined were: sense of meaningfulness, psychological capital, co-worker relationships and transformational leadership. A 56-item survey was distributed to staff members of a mid-sized four year institution located in the Midwest. While all four factors were positive and significantly correlated to the outcome of engagement, a sense of meaningfulness was the strongest predictor of employee engagement. Psychological capital was the second strongest predictor, followed by positive co-worker relationships and transformational leadership. The findings in this study contribute to what we know about the predictors of employee engagement and provide both scholars and practitioners with a greater understanding of key factors that contribute to the outcome of employee engagement. Implications and directions for future research and practical applications for practitioners is discussed.

Committee: David Stein (Committee Chair) Subjects: Adult Education; Behavioral Sciences; Business Education