The Attitudinal, Behavioral, and Performance Outcomes of Work Engagement: A Comparative Meta-Analysis Across the Public, Semipublic, and Private Sector

Abstract

Eager to learn from private sector trends, practitioners in (semi)public organizations across the world have recently turned their eyes to the concept of work engagement to improve employee performance. Studies in the private sector show that work engagement is a more robust predictor of performance than, for example, satisfaction. The goal of this study is to find out whether the effects of work engagement on attitudinal, behavioral, and performance outcomes within the semipublic and public sector are also as high as expected and whether these relationships differ between the public, semipublic, and private sector. The results of the cross-sectoral meta-analysis of 130 studies showed that the most noticeable significant sectoral differences can be found in the mean work engagement and the effects of work engagement on the level of attitudinal outcomes (job satisfaction and commitment) and behavioral outcomes (workaholism and turnover intention).