Work engagement challenges of employed master’s students and directions for improvement: The case of Georgia

Type of the article: Research ArticleAbstractIn Georgia, employed master’s students face a unique conflict between professional and academic roles, which can critically undermine their work engagement and performance. This study aims to identify the challenges to work engagement faced by employed master’s students in Georgia and to explore practical strategies for improvement. A cross-sectional, anonymous survey of 437 employed master’s students was conducted in the spring semester of 2023 across major universities in Tbilisi, Kutaisi, Batumi, and Telavi, ensuring national representativeness. Data were analyzed using SPSS Statistics via Pearson’s correlation, ANOVA, and regression analysis. The results quantitatively demonstrate that work engagement is strongly correlated with workplace learning opportunities (r = .702), supervisory responsibility (r = .704), and, most significantly, with high-quality supervisor communication (r = .989) and democratic management styles (r = .809). The study confirms that engagement is significantly higher when students feel their opinions are valued and when supervisors effectively communicate organizational goals. In conclusion, the findings provide empirical evidence that modifying workplace management practices, specifically by enhancing supervisory communication, adopting democratic styles, and offering developmental opportunities, can significantly improve the work engagement of employed master’s students. These insights offer clear directives for employers, universities, and policymakers seeking to better support this key demographic group.