INTRODUCING NEW EMPLOYEE EMPOWERMENT APPROACH: A SYSTEMATIC LITERATURE REVIEW

Purpose of the study: The aim of the paper is to introduce newly developed constructs of employee empowerment as alternatives to the existing measures serving both the organization and employees. Centered on employees as the focus of the argument regarding how genuinely employee empowerment is realistically practiced in organizations today. Methodology: The study applied systematic literature review (SLR) or systematic research synthesis (SRS) as the method to gather, analyze and respond to the research query. The study method embraces the definition of SLR by Rousseau et al., (2008). The conditions for the literature search electronically were done through multiple journal sites. The gathered academic published materials were dated between 1954-2017. Main Findings: The findings revealed that there is a misconception surrounding the true picture of employee empowerment in organizations. Different organizations have different interpretations of employee empowerment as deem fitting to serve their needs. Most findings propagate employee empowerment on the conditions of internal factors of the organization. Applications of this study: This new approach to employee empowerment will give employees a new lease of life that extends beyond the immediate influence of the organization. It incorporates external factors as both define and shape the attitude and behaviors of employees. Both micro and macro factors relating to work roles and non-work roles of employees matter in empowerment. Novelty/Originality of this study: This study takes a holistic approach to employee empowerment by taking both inside-out and outside-in approach to factors that have strong influence on the attitude and behavior of employees thus relates to performance. It introduces new measures for employee empowerment.