Purpose: This paper seeks to consider employees' perceptions of engagement from their lived experiences of UK employees following the global credit crisis, post 2008. It draws from the prior studies of Hassard et al. (2009), which researched work practices in the period preceding the study. Design/methodology/approach: The research utilised focus group discussion, which was analysed by template analysis from an interpretive perspective and adopts narratives to facilitate a critical interpretive paradigm. Findings: There is clear evidence of theories surrounding the positive value of employee engagement, however the findings do not demonstrate that it is necessarily valued by UK management by their responses towards the work environment given post 2008 trading conditions. Research limitations/implications: The limitation of the study lies with the size of the sample participating. While this reflects the need for further future research to be undertaken, the study also recognises that the findings are determined by the perceptions of employees which may not reflect the intentions of the management within the organisations which they work. Originality/value: There is a dearth of empirical study into the post 2008 period. This research attempts to ground theories of engagement within the post global credit crunch timeframe.