Human Resource Management and employee engagement: A Literature Review
Managing Human Resources: BHRM702

Introduction
The term employee engagement is somewhat a new construct, in the late 1950s it was work motivation which was the main topic of discussion however over the past decade this notion has expanded to many new constructs ‘work engagement’ being one of them, Albrecht (2010). Moreover in recent years there has been growing interest in employee engagement within organisations, Saks (2006).This is due to the fact that many researchers have concluded that employee engagement is a key factor for an organisational success, Macey et al (2009). Despite the significance of employee engagement being linked to organisational success, it is clear that little empirical research has been undertaken, and little academic literature has been published. As Saks (2006) put it, “there is a surprising dearth of research on employee engagement in the academic literature” (p. 600). This literature review will focus on ‘work engagement’ and employee engagement as two main constructs.
As it will become prevalent, the central issue of employee engagement is the fact that there has yet to be a clear definition of “employee engagement” and how it should be measured, Saks and Gruman (2014). It is also evident that there are unanswered questions about the antecedents and consequences of engagement, Menguc et al (2013). The first section of the literature review will look at antecedents and consequences of employee engagement that are discussed within existing literature. However before one can look at the common themes it is vital that the definition of employee engagement is explored. The review will then begin to identify different themes and theories in relation to Human Resource Management practices and employee engagement.

Defining employee engagement

In recent years employee