IMPACTO DE LA SEGURIDAD LABORAL, EL AVANCE PROFESIONAL Y LA PARTI-CIPACIÓN DE LOS EMPLEADOS EN LA COMPROMISO DE LOS EMPLEADOS EN LA INDUSTRIA DEL PETRÓLEO Y EL GAS, EAU

The area of work on employee engagement (EE) in the field of HRM though extensive but is primarily concerned with organizational con-sequences. As far as we know, soft HR practices-employee engagement nexus received limited attention in the applied literature. This present study, therefore, contributes to the debate on the development of soft practices of HRM in the domain of EE. The source of data for this research was collected from 382 permanent employees offering their duties at oil and gas industry in UAE. In addition, the structured questionnaires serve as data collection tool. The dimensions of soft HRM practices (job security, career advancement and employee par-ticipation) are used as explanatory variables while EE is used as outcome variable. Using SEM-PLS, the findings of this study reveal that there is a positive and significant relationship between job security and EE stating that 1-unit increase in job security tends to increase 0.337 units of EE. Also, the findings also indicate a positive affiliation between career advancement and EE which suggests that 1-unit increase in career advancement will increase 0.453 units of EE. There is a positive association between employee participation and EE indicating that 1-unit increase in employee participation tends to increase 0.243 units of EE. The results present concrete suggestions as to how business organisations can progress and improve the engagement of employees. When suitable and appropriate soft practices of HRM are imple-mented for their employee’s betterment, they will feel obliged towards their firm under the norms of social exchange theory and response by displaying extra enthusiasm and dedications during their performance role. Based on the findings, this study recommends improving job security, career advancement and employee participation in order to enhance the employee engagement.