The role of resilience and well-being in enhancing employee engagement

Abstract

An investigation into the correlation between three primary contracts was the objective of the research study. The focus was on the three primary constructs of resilience, well-being, and employee engagement, with the Conservation of Resources theory as the theoretical underpinning. This research study aimed to establish the impact of resilience and well-being, as personal resources, on employee engagement within the South African financial services industry. The research design employed a positivist quantitative methodology, using a structured survey questionnaire distributed across the South African financial services industry to examine the causal relationships among the three constructs: resilience, well-being and engagement. The study was a cross-sectional research design. The findings of this study suggest that individual resilience, a key personal resource, enables well-being and has a direct impact on employee engagement in the workplace. Higher levels of well-being are directly linked to higher levels of employee engagement, whereas the same was not found to be true for resilience. Therefore, employees with high levels of resilience may be able to withstand high pressure and stress, which may enable engagement; however, this will not sustain engagement levels over a longer period of time. The findings of this study reinforce a balanced approach to cultivating resilient employees and simultaneously fostering healthy and supportive work conditions. Thus, in doing so, the organisation creates a workforce that is enabled with high levels of engagement. The study aimed to test established theory and was therefore not intended as a theory-building study. Practical recommendations were established based on the study’s findings, which organisations can implement to enhance employee engagement and overall organisational performance, thereby contributing to the field of organisational psychology and workplace policy and practice.