How William Kahn Revolutionized Employee Engagement

The study of employee engagement is still relatively new—but where did it begin? Learn about organizational psychologist William Kahn, the so-called father of employee engagement.

Blaise Radley October 15, 2024

A team of fully committed, engaged employees who go above and beyond is an incredibly valuable asset at any organization. But how did organizations first identify the drivers of employee engagement? Step forward William Kahn, the psychologist who developed and named the theory.

Kahn’s primary aim was to identify the conditions that enabled engagement across different companies. In his own words, he was focused on "...the moments in which people bring themselves into, or remove themselves from, particular task behaviors”.

By analysing the pivotal moments where employees engage and disengage, Kahn set forth a theory that fundamentally changed the workplace. 

William Kahn’s Theory of Employee Engagement

Parallels can be drawn between the findings of Kahn’s 1990 study, Psychological Conditions of Personal Engagement and Disengagement at Work, and the research into human motivation by psychologists such as Frederick Herzberg and Ryan & Deci. However, it wasn’t Kahn’s initial intention to build on these theories. Instead, he sought to conduct his own research by observing and analyzing workplace behavior.

His research involved two workplace studies: the first in a summer camp and the second in an architecture firm. Through his time in these organizations, he defined engagement as an employee’s ability to harness their “full self” at work, and identified three psychological conditions that enable it:

  1. MeaningfulnessDoes an employee find their work meaningful enough (to the organization and to society) to warrant them engaging their full self?
  2. SafetyDoes the employee feel safe bringing their full self to work without risk of negative consequences?
  3. AvailabilityDoes the employee feel mentally and physically able to harness their full self at this particular moment?

His findings separate engagement from hard work. A diligent employee, who is able to harness their full self, will also display loyalty and ownership. For example, an engaged employee will tackle tasks without being asked to because they believe that their extra effort will benefit the organization.

Kahn also found that engagement isn’t static—an employee’s experiences of the workplace in different moments can cause fluctuations in engagement. This is good news for employers, because it indicates that declining engagement scores are often reversible.

Applying Kahn’s Theory of Employee Engagement

In a 2015 interview with Workforce Magazine, William Kahn summarized how managers could apply his theory:

"Approach employees as true partners, involving them in continuous dialogues and processes about how to design and alter their roles, tasks and working relationships."

William Kahn Organizational Psychologist

Viewing employees as partners rather than cogs in a machine is critically important to engagement theory. As Kahn further highlighted, engagement occurs when a person is able to “harness their full selves” to their work. That means businesses have to create space to recognise each employee as an individual.

Google’s Project Aristotle studied 180 teams within the organization, looking for patterns of successful collaboration. They found that teams built on psychological safety were the most successful. These teams were characterized by empathy, openness, and not wearing a “work face”—all key factors for engagement.

The most important thing an employer can do is develop a supportive culture that allows people to be themselves, where they are “safe” from unwarranted control or criticism. You don’t need a big budget or sophisticated facilities to understand the needs of your employees through focus groups or feedback surveys. It pays to listen.

Understanding Kahn’s Theories as Employee Engagement Drivers

How can businesses act on Kahn’s employee engagement theory and use his research to motivate teams? To answer that, we can look at the drivers in the Workday Peakon Employee Voice platform.

Kahn’s “meaningfulness” is embodied by our “meaningful work” driver. In practice, that means businesses need to make sure that each employee understands the value and impact their role has on the whole. It’s this genuine appreciation for making a contribution that motivates individuals to commit themselves fully to their role.

We see Kahn’s concept of “safety” in our “freedom of opinions” driver. Work should be a safe space for employees to voice their views without fear of reprisals. Without psychological safety, employees won’t feel able to contribute actively on a daily basis.

Kahn’s “availability” concept encompasses many aspects of the workplace. The physical environment needs to be right for a person to apply themselves. For example, does an employee have all the equipment they need to get their job done, and do they have the space to work individually and collaboratively? 

Meanwhile, “management support” and “peer relationships” reflect the interpersonal connections that enable an employee to harness their full self. Taken as a whole, the goal is to make sure that businesses create the right environment and culture for engagement to flourish—and that’s something Kahn would’ve been a big proponent of.

Is your employee listening strategy outdated? Download this Workday guide to launch an active listening approach in three easy steps.

This article has been updated since it was first published in May 2018. 

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