In the article “Employee Engagement – the Emergence of a New Construct?” by Richard McBain, employee engagement is a fairly new yet increasingly discussed topic. McBain likens it to “the ‘ultimate prize’ for employers” and although its meaning has yet to be clearly defined, he states that “employee engagement can make a difference to the performance of individuals, teams and organizations”. Indeed it is, as its name suggests, this concept integrates several aspects such as employee satisfaction, enthusiastic involvement as well as commitment in a job, which will ultimately affect the way organisations perform. With this knowledge, companies are actively encouraging employee engagement in their organisations through creative ways.

This concept of employee engagement are related to the four elements of the MARS model of individual behaviour and results – Motivation (M), ability (A), role perception (R) and situational factors (S). These factors directly influence an employee’s voluntary behaviour and overall performance; if any of these factors weakens, employee performance decreases. Therefore, by ensuring that these factors are fulfilled, an employee’s performance will improve, leading to an enhancement in employee engagement.

The first factor, motivation, refers to the forces within a person that influence the direction along which he or she engages their effort, the amount of effort invested in achieving the goal and persistence of voluntary behaviour. To motivate employees, employers must have a good relationship with employees and uncover the driving force that pushes them on. To realise this, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs differentiates the 5 levels of needs that an individual must meet in order to achieve the next level.

The first level refers to an employee’s needs of having a good salary and working conditions. This can be achieved