Work Engagement in India

Abstract

Work engagement is generally accepted to have three factors: vigour, dedication and absorption. I studied whether this three-factor model is valid for India. 182 Indian working professionals completed the 9-item Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES-9). Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the three factor model may not be appropriate for India. Instead, it may be more appropriate to consider work engagement as a single-factor construct for India. Further analyses showed that the single-factor model is invariant across gender, organizational tenure and dyadic duration, but varies across age groups. It may indicate the need to consider culture as a boundary condition for work engagement.