We present theory suggesting that experiences at work that meet employees’ expectations of need fulfillment drive work engagement. Employees have needs (e.g., a desire to be authentic) and they also have expectations for how their job or their organization will fulfill them. We argue that experiences at work that confirm employees’ need fulfillment expectations yield a positive emotional state that is energizing, and that this energy is manifested in employees’ behaviors at work. Our theorizing draws on a review of the work engagement literature, in which we identify three core characteristics of work engagement: (a) a positive emotional state that (b) yields a feeling of energy and (c) leads to positive work-oriented behaviors. These key themes provide the foundation for further theorizing suggesting that interactions at work confirm or disconfirm employees’ need fulfillment expectations, leading to different levels of engagement. We extend our theorizing to argue that confirmation, or disconfirmation, of different need expectations will yield emotional experience of varying magnitudes, with confirmation of approach-oriented need expectations exerting stronger effects than the confirmation of avoidance-oriented need expectations. We close with a review suggesting that organizational contextual features influence the expression of these needs, sustaining or undermining the positive emotional experiences that fuel work engagement.

我们提出的理论表明，满足员工对需求满足期望的工作经验可以推动工作投入。员工有需求（例如，渴望成为真实的人），并且对自己的工作或组织如何实现期望也抱有期望。我们认为，确认员工需要满足期望的工作经验会产生一种积极的情绪状态，这种状态会不断激发，这种能量体现在员工的工作行为中。我们的理论基于对工作参与文献的回顾，其中我们确定了工作参与的三个核心特征：（a）一种积极的情绪状态，（b）产生能量感，（c）导致积极的工作导向行为。这些关键主题为进一步理论化提供了基础，表明工作上的互动确认或否定了员工的需求实现期望，从而导致了不同程度的敬业度。我们扩展了理论，认为对不同需求期望的确认或不确认将产生不同程度的情感体验，与确认方法导向的需求期望相比，对避免需求的期望具有更强的作用。我们的评论结尾表明，组织的上下文特征会影响这些需求的表达，从而维持或破坏促进工作投入的积极情感体验。或不同意，不同需求期望将产生不同程度的情感体验，与确认面向需求的需求期望相比，面向方法的需求期望的确认作用更强。我们的评论结尾表明，组织的上下文特征会影响这些需求的表达，从而维持或破坏促进工作投入的积极情感体验。或不同意，不同需求期望将产生不同程度的情感体验，与确认面向需求的需求期望相比，面向方法的需求期望的确认作用更强。我们的评论结尾表明，组织的上下文特征会影响这些需求的表达，从而维持或破坏促进工作投入的积极情感体验。