Dancing between theory and practice: Enhancing work engagement through work stress intervention

This quasi‐experimental and longitudinal study assesses the effectiveness of a work stress intervention (i.e., Team Redesign) to increase job and personal resources and to consequently reduce job strain and increase employee psychosocial well‐being in an enamel manufacturing company following the Resources‐Experiences‐Demands Model (RED Model) and within the Action‐Research approach. The sample consisted of 108 employees at Time 1 and 72 employees at Time 2. Repeated‐measures multivariable analysis of variance (MANOVA) showed that the Time × Intervention interaction had reliable, positive, and incremental effects on job resources (i.e., innovation climate), personal resources (i.e., professional self‐efficacy and perceived competence), and motivational outcomes (i.e., work engagement, vigor, and dedication) on the intervention group (laboratory team, n = 9) when compared with the control group ( n = 63 employees from different departments). Finally, we discuss the theoretical and practical implications based on the RED Model, including the feedback from Intervention (Action) to Theory (Research). © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.