THE ROLE OF REVERSE MENTORING ON EMPLOYEE WORK ENGAGEMENT: DEVELOPING A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ON THE MODERATING EFFECT OF SELF-EFFICACY AND THE MEDIATING ROLE OF KNOWLEDGE SHARING

Abstract

Employee engagement is a headline issue and it’s becoming even more complicated when businesses are trying to engage employees who belong to multiple generations and “Reverse Mentoring” can be suggested as a solution to deal with the changing dynamics and it is proposed to be a tool to develop and engage multigenerational workforce. The purpose of this study is to examine the role of reverse mentoring on employee work engagement as mentors in selected organizations in Sri Lanka. This study will examine the moderating effect of self-efficacy, perceived organizational support and the mediating effect of knowledge sharing between reverse mentoring and employee work engagement. As per the Employee-driven job resource model (JD-R), it is argued that when an organization facilitates reverse mentoring (relational level), employees also perceive it as a job resource and as a strong organizational support and feel obligated toward the organization. Currently employee engagement which is facilitated by knowledge sharing enables organizations to gain competitive advantage and to this end, knowledge sharing is fundamental domain in retaining competitive advantage, particularly in terms of employee engagement. This theoretical association between the individual–level, relational-level factors and work engagement of junior employees (as mentors) will reveal significant managerial implications and insights for future research. Further, the impact is amplified by offering organizations a strategic tool to bridge generational gaps and promote a collaborative culture along with enhanced work engagement.