Is There a Downside to Engagement for Employees?

For many years now, researchers and practitioners have been discovering and promoting the numerous positive effects of engagement in the workplace. Up until recently, much of the research being conducted regarding engagement has focused exclusively on its positive impact on the lives of employees. Recently, a number of researchers have started to pay attention to the negative impact it can have on the lives of employees. Work by Halbesleben, Harvey & Bolino, (2009), Bolino & Turnley (2005) and Kim, Shin & Swanger (2009) has explored the variety of ways engagement can have an adverse effect on an individual in the workplace; the details and implications of their findings are discussed in this paper