A Study on the Comparison of Three Engagement Scales in a Korean Organizational Context

As employee engagement has received increasing attention in the HRD field over the last two decades, HRD practitioners have faced challenges related to engagement including measurement selection, meaning, and definitional muddling. Thus, in this study, we performed model evaluation of three unique engagement measures (i.e., the UWES-9, JES, and EES). We also compared them one another using a non-nested model comparison approach to understand how each might perform psychometrically and then paired each measure of engagement with job performance to better understand how each would perform as a tool for predicting that outcome. The data collected among 600 full-time employees working in Korean organizations were employed. The results showed that the EES and JES were feasible and valid for measuring employee engagement as well as for predicting job performance. In addition, the investigation of the best fitting model through the comparison of parsimony fit indices indicated that EES and its relationship with job performance can be preferred in Korean organizational settings. Based on the results, theoretical and practical implications for human resource development, limitations, and recommendations for further research are discussed.