Macquarie Graduate School of Management Mgsm Working Papers in Management Self-efficacy, Motivation and Employee Engagement: Empowering Workers Using Forum Theatre

Self-efficacy is a social psychological construct that is conceptualized from an agentic perspective and refers to the motivation to perceive oneself as a causal agent. A recent work place intervention within a division of a large Australian retail organization was designed to empower workers through the 4 sources of self-efficacy information: enactive attainment, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion and emotional arousal. This information was delivered via a Forum Theatre setting, a technique traditionally used as a catalyst for political action amongst oppressed groups. Preliminary results suggest the intervention‟s format has lead to an increase in employee self-efficacy, empowerment and engagement as well as improved organizational performance. This paper describes the theoretical nexus between self-efficacy, work motivation and employee engagement and outlines a research program utilizing Forum Theatre as a vehicle to shift power to workers while concurrently meeting organizational objectives. The use of Forum Theatre suggests that another world is indeed possible for disengaged and alienated workers, a world where they are empowered. Correspondence Details Richard Carter Macquarie Graduate School of Management Macquarie University NSW 2109 AUSTRALIA Phone: + 61 414 782 182 Fax: + 61 2 9850 9019 Email: [email protected]