Abstract

With the ongoing pandemic and technological evolutions, remote work has become the new normal. However, existing employee engagement instruments do not take the remote aspect of work into account. This paper proposes a nine-item instrument for assessing employee engagement in general, and remote worker engagement specifically. The instrument was named EENDEED, for enhanced engagement nurtured by determination, efficacy, and exchange dimensions. It was grounded on three theories: (1) self-determination; (2) self-efficacy; and (3) social exchange. After generating the proposed scale grounded on the literature and theory, data were collected from 626 participants in the United States through an online survey. The dataset was split in two random samples of 405 and 195 cases respectively, after eliminating 26 cases with missing values. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) on the larger sample helped discover its two-factor structure, namely PERFORMANCE and SELF-RELIANCE. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed on the second sample, which confirmed the two-factor structure of EENDEED. A final study assessed the reliability and validity of EENDEED. Data were collected through an online survey of 162 employees in the U.S. A CFA was conducted, validating the two-factor structure of the instrument. Construct reliability of the factors and reliability of the scale were ascertained. Face validity, content validity, construct validity, and criterion validity were confirmed. This study fills the gap in current engagement measurements by including the remote worker dimension. Organizations will be better able to identify and address challenges faced by traditional workplace employees and remote workers.

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