Employee Engagement and Workplace Innovation: A Systematic Literature Review of Driving Factors

Abstract

There is growing scholarly interest in the importance of employee engagement (EE) and workplace innovation (WI) for organisational performance, the well-being of employees and the adaptability of organisations. The present study aims to conduct a systematic literature review about EE and WI, focusing on the important factors influencing both constructs. This study is based on a systematic review methodology and incorporates evidence from 44 peer-reviewed journal articles from 2012 to 2025. The findings show that factors such as transformational leadership, employee autonomy, psychological safety, organisational culture, employee empowerment, technological resources, learning and development opportunities, and diversity and inclusion are important factors that relate to EE and WI. The review also suggests that EE has a role to play in enabling innovation through creativity, knowledge sharing, participation, problem-solving and responding to organisational change. Generally, the results indicate that the factors that can enhance WI include enabling workplace engagement, autonomy, psychological safety, and ongoing learning and development. The review also highlights significant avenues of future research, most notably technology, long-term impacts, cross-cultural differences, industry-specific variations and the well-being of employees.