Work engagement has emerged as an important concept in positive psychology and has been shown to influence levels of both individual and organizational performance. Efforts are being undertaken to identify the ways of enhancing the levels of employee work engagement, as a result. While agreeing that work engagement generally has positive consequences we raise four issues that suggest that high levels of work engagement may have a ‘dark side’ for some employees in some contexts.

Organizations today are addressing new challenges in their need to be competitive, including the use of new technology, heightened global competition, greater economic and financial turbulence, pressures to be socially responsible and workforces consisting of employees having different values. These forces have emphasized the role of human resources and human resources management practices as drivers of business success (Pfeffer, 1998; Sirota et al., 2005; Lawler and Worley, 2006; Sisodia et al., 2007; and Raich et al., 2010).

The concept of work engagement has emerged as a central element in enhancing the performance of employees and their organizations (Bakker and Leiter, 2010). Although several conceptualizations and definitions of work engagement have been offered, the most widely used definition of work engagement is that it is a “positive, fulfilling work-related state of mind characterized by vigor, dedication and absorption.” Work engagement then has three components: employees are energized and stimulated (vigor), the work is meaningful and important (dedication), and individuals are highly committed and invested in their work (absorption).

Effective Executive Magazine, Sustaining Success, Idealistic Notion, Financial Fraud, Future Implications, Second-Hand People, Integrity Maintainence, Economic Swings, Dot-com Bubble Mania, Financial Breakdown, Technological Revolution.