When Too Much Energy Backfires: How Feedback and Psychological Capital Keep Engagement Effective

What is it about?

This study investigates how employees’ work engagement—their energy, enthusiasm, and absorption in their job—relates to job performance, and why this link may weaken at very high engagement levels. It also explores how feedback-seeking behavior and psychological capital (self-efficacy, optimism, and resilience) influence this connection. The research asks whether engagement always boosts performance and how personal and behavioral factors explain or stabilize this relationship. Drawing on data from employees and supervisors in Ukraine and Pakistan, the study finds that the relationship between work engagement and job performance is curvilinear: while moderate levels of engagement enhance performance, very high levels yield smaller gains or even strain-related declines. Employees who actively seek feedback from supervisors maintain stronger performance because feedback helps them direct their energy and regulate effort effectively. Moreover, psychological capital—comprising confidence, optimism, and resilience—explains this curvilinear effect of engagement on performance. For organizations, these findings emphasize the need to manage engagement levels carefully. Encouraging employees to seek feedback and developing their psychological resources can ensure that enthusiasm leads to productive, sustainable outcomes. Training programs that cultivate confidence, optimism, and resilience help employees harness their energy without overextending themselves or diminishing performance.

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Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This study contributes to understanding the nonlinear nature of engagement, revealing that its benefits taper off at higher levels and that psychological capital serves as a key explanatory mechanism for this curvilinear pattern. By identifying feedback-seeking as a practical stabilizer and personal resources as the underlying pathway, it paints a more complete picture of how engagement affects performance. Its timeliness lies in its applicability to organizations in Ukraine, Pakistan, and beyond, where maintaining high performance under increasing demands is a pressing challenge. By promoting feedback-rich environments and fostering psychological growth, organizations can help employees stay effective, energized, and resilient without crossing into counterproductive overengagement.