Employer–employee solidarity and work engagement: the mediating role of co-workers' solidarity

Purpose The role of cooperative, solidary relationships between employers and employees in cultivating solidarity among employees and engagement related performances is missing and the effect of such relationships on solidarity in the higher education sector is lacking. Hence, as part of an effort to fill this void, the purpose of this study is to examine the effect of the employer–employee solidarity on employee engagement and its underlying mechanism. Design/methodology/approach A quantitative methodology with cross-sectional research design was employed in this study. Data were collected from a total of 335 employees of private universities in Ethiopia selected using the proportionate stratified sampling method. A five-point Likert type scale measurement instrument was employed to collect the data. A two-stage Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) analytical procedure was used to analyze the data and test the hypotheses. Findings Findings show that the presence of solidarity in the relationship between employers and employees influences work engagement positively as it promotes solidarity among coworkers and enhance job resourcefulness. The study confirms that, apart from organizational characteristics and anti-management movements, workplace solidarity can emerge from solidarity in employer–employee relationships. The employer–employee solidarity stimulates a solidary relationship among coworkers which helps them to exchange experiences, values and develop a shared responsibility which in turn can serve as an important job resource essential for employees to engage in their jobs. Research limitations/implications The study has certain limitations. The first limitation is related to methodology. The study used cross-sectional research design to identify the effect of employer–employee solidarity on coworkers’ solidarity and work engagement. This design provides a snapshot of casual relationships. Longitudinal research that uses data from multiple sources including public universities is necessary to better understand the cause–effect relationships that exist among the variables. Second, the data collected through self-reported measurement instruments might cause same source bias. To fill this void, future research may consider cross-referencing data. Practical implications Employers who engage in extra-contractual efforts to show their solidarity with the employees and build a mutually rewarding work environment can cultivate pro-social behavior of employees. In this regard, employers in the private universities can show their solidarity with employees in a variety of ways. Reasonable profit sharing with employees/contributing to the collective good, providing help to employees who need it, honestly sharing the costs and benefits with their employees and rectifying errors committed on employees to make them engaged in their jobs and the behavior of helping others are some of the actions that employers can undertake. Originality/value Unlike other studies, the authors tried to investigate the positive influence of employers’ effort to go beyond employment contract to take care of employees and the effect of this on engagement-related performances. The study identified that, apart from organizational characteristics and anti-management actions of employees, cooperative solidarity in employer–employee relationship is an important source of solidarity at work and work engagement. This can provide managers and academicians guidance to exercise a set of practices that promote solidarity at work as an enhanced management approach to cope with today’s complex and highly competitive business environment.