Responding to the Challenge of Employee Engagement During Uncertain Times: Adaptive Leadership is the Answer

Abstract

This chapter aims to combat the challenge of employee engagement faced by organizations across the globe during this uncertain world. This theoretical study suggests a conceptual model that explores adaptive leadership to evoke employee engagement in this pandemic context. Based on the theoretical lens of social exchange theory (SET), the conceptual model of the study illustrates the role of adaptive leaders in facilitating employee development, formation of social capital, and articulation of organizational vision. This, in turn, boosts employee engagement levels, in particular affective, cognitive, and physical engagement. The rationale of the conceptual model is provided with testable propositions. This chapter extends the human resource management scholarship on how to deal with employee engagement challenge. Simultaneously, it takes aim to expand the adaptive leadership theory research by exploring its possible effect on employee engagement outcomes.