The phrase "employee engagement" was coined by organizational psychologist Professor William Kahn in his 1990 paper "Psychological Conditions of Personal Engagement and Disengagement at Work." Kahn used the term to describe workers' psychological presence and investment in their roles—how much of their physical, cognitive, and emotional selves they brought to their work.
Kahn specifically chose "engagement" because it evoked commitment and personal investment in one's job, in contrast to merely being satisfied or committed in a passive sense. His work set the foundation for subsequent research and popularization of the concept throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.
The concept of "customer engagement" entered the marketing literature later, primarily gaining traction in the early 2000s as companies and academics started to focus on actively fostering deeper, ongoing relationships—and investments—between brands and their customers, especially with the rise of digital and online channels.
The phrase "employee engagement" was coined by organizational psychologist Professor William Kahn in his 1990 paper "Psychological Conditions of Personal Engagement and Disengagement at Work." Kahn used the term to describe workers' psychological presence and investment in their roles—how much of their physical, cognitive, and emotional selves they brought to their work.
Kahn specifically chose "engagement" because it evoked commitment and personal investment in one's job, in contrast to merely being satisfied or committed in a passive sense. His work set the foundation for subsequent research and popularization of the concept throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.
The concept of "customer engagement" entered the marketing literature later, primarily gaining traction in the early 2000s as companies and academics started to focus on actively fostering deeper, ongoing relationships—and investments—between brands and their customers, especially with the rise of digital and online channels.