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Is too much work engagement detrimental? Linear or curvilinear effects on mental health and job performance

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  • Akihito Shimazu
  • Wilmar B Schaufeli
  • Kazumi Kubota
  • Kazuhiro Watanabe
  • Norito Kawakami

Abstract

Most studies report a positive relationship of work engagement with health and job performance, but, occasionally, a “dark side of engagement” has also been uncovered. The current study examined two hypotheses: whether work engagement has (1) a U-shaped curvilinear relation with psychological distress and (2) an inverted U-shaped curvilinear relation with job performance (i.e., in-role performance and creative behavior). A two-wave longitudinal Internet survey with a time lag of seven months was conducted among 1,967 Japanese employees. To test our hypotheses, we used a two-wave panel design and examined the lagged and concurrent relations between work engagement and both outcomes. The results confirmed that work engagement had a curvilinear relation with psychological distress concurrently; a favorable effect was found initially, but this disappeared at intermediate levels of work engagement, and, at higher levels, an adverse effect became prominent. In addition, work engagement had a curvilinear relation with in-role performance both concurrently and longitudinally; the higher the levels of work engagement, the stronger the favorable effects on in-role performance. However, contrary to our expectations, work engagement had a linear relation with psychological distress longitudinally and with creative behavior both concurrently and longitudinally. Hence, our results suggest that work engagement plays a different role in health enhancement compared to performance enhancement. Leveling-off and adverse effects of high work engagement were observed for psychological distress in the short and not in a long run. In contrast, no leveling-off effect of high work engagement was observed for job performance. Thus, except for the short-term effect on psychological distress, no dark side of work engagement was observed for psychological distress and job performance.

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  • Akihito Shimazu & Wilmar B Schaufeli & Kazumi Kubota & Kazuhiro Watanabe & Norito Kawakami, 2018. "Is too much work engagement detrimental? Linear or curvilinear effects on mental health and job performance," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(12), pages 1-17, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0208684
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0208684
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Oshio, Takashi & Kobayashi, Miki, 2010. "Income inequality, perceived happiness, and self-rated health: Evidence from nationwide surveys in Japan," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 70(9), pages 1358-1366, May.
    2. Wilmar Schaufeli & Marisa Salanova & Vicente González-romá & Arnold Bakker, 2002. "The Measurement of Engagement and Burnout: A Two Sample Confirmatory Factor Analytic Approach," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 3(1), pages 71-92, March.
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    Cited by:

    1. Yuga Raju Gunda & Suprakash Gupta & Lalit Kumar Singh, 2023. "Assessing human performance and human reliability: a review," International Journal of System Assurance Engineering and Management, Springer;The Society for Reliability, Engineering Quality and Operations Management (SREQOM),India, and Division of Operation and Maintenance, Lulea University of Technology, Sweden, vol. 14(3), pages 817-828, June.
    2. Guohua He & Ran An & Feng Zhang, 2019. "Cultural Intelligence and Work–Family Conflict: A Moderated Mediation Model Based on Conservation of Resources Theory," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-22, July.
    3. Yura Loscalzo & Marco Giannini, 2020. "Heavy Work Investment and Psychopathology: Internalizing and Externalizing Disorders as Antecedents and Outcomes," The AMFITEATRU ECONOMIC journal, Academy of Economic Studies - Bucharest, Romania, vol. 22(Special 1), pages 1301-1301, November.
    4. Christina G. L. Nerstad & Sut I Wong & Astrid M. Richardsen, 2019. "Can Engagement Go Awry and Lead to Burnout? The Moderating Role of the Perceived Motivational Climate," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-21, June.
    5. Fabian Onyekachi Ugwu & Ibeawuchi K. Enwereuzor & Jens Mazei, 2023. "Is Working from Home a Blessing or a Burden? Home Demands as a Mediator of the Relationship Between Work Engagement and Work-Life Balance," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 18(1), pages 341-364, February.

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