The Effect of Job Resources on Work Engagement: A Study on Academicians in Turkey.

AbstractConducting research and publishing these research papers in academic journals is an accepted norm in the academic world. Previous studies prove that work engagement is a significant predictor of performance. Herein, the relationship between work engagement, which is assumed as a substitute for performance, and job resources is examined. At least one university from each Turkish city was selected and academicians of those universities were sent a 20-item survey online. Four hundred and twenty two academicians were tested using the convenience sampling method. Job resources were subject to second-order confirmatory factor analysis. Furthermore, both for job resources and work engagement, discriminant validity, convergent validity, and composite reliability tests were conducted. The results were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results indicate that job resources (autonomy, social support, coaching, opportunity for personal development, and task significance) need to be enhanced to develop work engagement by Turkish academicians.Keywords: Job resources * Work engagement * Coaching * Autonomy * Social support * Personal growth * Structural equationNowadays, it is scarcely possible to say that studies on positive psychology, which focuses positive and strong aspects of employees' feelings and features, have caught up with the literature on employees' negative situations. Martin Seligman, who was the president of the American Psychological Association, brought up this idea with the following words: "The time has finally arrived for a science that seeks to understand positive emotion, build strength and virtue, and provide guideposts for finding what Aristotle called the good life" (Seligman, 2002). Positive psychology suggest that repairing the negativity and unfavorable situations is not the sole function of psychology; however, it has a more important role of focusing on strengths and improving the positive aspects of individuals.In today's work life, organizations are aware that members cannot be satisfied only with being kept away from negative conditions. Attention is paid to the strengths of individuals, optimal functioning, and positive experiences at work (Mauno, Kinnunen, & Ruokolainen, 2007). Research in management literature has also analyzed this through several studies (Berg, Wrzesniewski, & Dutton, 2010; Csikszentmihalyi 1990, 1996, 1997; Dutton, Roberts, & Bednar, 2010; Fredrickson, 2001; Gardner, Csikszentmihalyi, & Damon, 2001; Hennessey & Amabile, 1998; Mitchell, Holtom, & Lee, 2001; Park, Peterson, & Seligman, 2004; Sawyer, 2007; Schneider, Goldstein, & Smith, 1995; van den Hout & Davis, 2010). Since the Industrial Revolution, researchers and practitioners have been trying to optimize workplaces to obtain the most efficient and effective output. From classical management views to contemporary theories, several views have been expressed about how the ideal workplace should be. One of the recent theories on this issue is the Job Demand-Resources Model (J-DR). The JD-R model has been developed by Demerouti, Bakker, Nachreiner, and Schaufeli in 2001. The model is a far cry from other well-known theories such as Hackman and Oldham's job characteristics theory (JCT) (1980), Karasek's demand-control model (1979) (DCM), and Siegrist's effort-reward imbalance model (1996) (ERI) with its dynamic structure. However, contrary to these theories, the JD-R model does not state specific factors that lead to job strain or motivation. It propounds the assumption that every occupation may have its own specific risk factors associated with job stress, and these factors can be classified particularly into two general categories: job demands and job resources (Bakker & Demerouti, 2007). Job demands refer to physical and/or psychological (cognitive and emotional) efforts or skills, and are, therefore, associated with certain physiological and/or psychological costs (Bakker, Hakanen, Demerouti, & Xanthopoulou, 2007). …