Abstract
The U.S. Army Cyber Command has been receiving poor employee engagement reviews
for the last four years. This fact spurred the purpose of this qualitative case study, to
explore ways employee engagement can be improved. Qualitative data analysis and
synthesis was conducted through triangulating multiple data sources with multiple
theories. The 4 data sources were organization cultural artifacts, federal employee
viewpoint survey results, defense organizational climate survey results, and interviews
conducted with employees from operational planning directorates. The 5 employee
engagement theories were the expectancy theory, jobs demands-resources model, leader
member exchange, motivation-hygiene theory, and self-determination theory. Employee
engagement in the U.S. Army Cyber Command, when assessed from different theory
perspectives, result in different findings. The expectancy theory and job demands
resources model perspectives show greater negative findings while the leader-member
exchange, motivation-hygiene, and self-determination theories perspectives show higher
positive findings. These results mean that the various approaches to employee
engagement each have strengths and weaknesses. For a broader impact, more than 1
theory lens must be incorporated in planning. Therefore, the U.S. Army Cyber
Command needs a unifying blueprint for improved employee engagement. Rather than
remedying engagement problems as they arise, an organization encompassing campaign
designed to instill concepts into the very culture of the U.S. Army Cyber Command will
embed predictably influential interaction and opportunities across all mission activities.
Keywords: employee engagement, expectancy theory, job demands-resources
model, leader-member exchange, motivation-hygiene, self-determination