This article examines the potential antecedents and consequences of work engagement in a sample of male and female managers and professionals employed in the manufacturing sector in Turkey.

Data collected from 877 respondents had a 58% response rate, using anonymously completed questionnaires. Engagement was assessed by three scales developed by Schaufeli, Salanova, Gonzalez-Roma, and Bakker (2002) to assess vigor, dedication and absorption. Antecedents included personal demographic and work situation characteristics as well as measures of need for achievement and workaholic behaviors; consequences included measures of work satisfaction and psychological well-being.

The following results were observed. First, both need for achievement and workaholic job behaviors were found to predict all three engagement measures. Second, engagement, particularly dedication, predicted various work outcomes (e.g., job satisfaction, intent to quit). Third, engagement, again, particularly dedication, predicted various psychological well-being outcomes but less strongly than these predicted work outcomes.

Questions of causality cannot be addressed since data were collected at only one point in time. Longitudinal studies are needed to determine the effects of work life experiences on engagement. Organizations can increase levels of work engagement by creating supportive work experiences (e.g., control, rewards and recognition) consistent with effective human resource management practices. But caution must be exercised before employing North American practices in the Turkish context.

Organizations today are grappling with new challenges as they strive to remain competitive. These include increased financial turbulence, heightened performance pressures, new technology, an increasingly diverse workforce, and the globalization of business (Burke & Cooper, 2004; O'Toole & Lawler, 2006; Sisodia, Wolfe & Sheth, 2007). Organizational leaders are increasingly concluding that a unique competitive advantage resides in their human resources; all other potential competitive advantages (e.g. technology, capital, products) can be either bought or copied (Gratton, 2000; Lawler, 2003; 2008; Pfeffer, 1994, 1998; Burke & Cooper, 2005).

Effective Executive Magazine, Work Engagement, Manufacturing Sectors, Human Resource Management, Organizational Leaders, Human Resources, Structural Equation Modeling, Job Resources, Agricultural Machineries, Electrical Products, Hierarchical Regression Analyses, Personal Demographics, Psychosomatic Symptoms, Leadership Development.