Work engagement fosters employee satisfaction and organizational development. This study aimed to establish the best-fit model for work engagement among the cooperatives in Davao City, utilizing a quantitative approach employing structural equation modeling. It utilized simple random sampling, gathering responses from 349 employees across cooperatives in the Davao Region. The study identified the best-fit model through various goodness-of-fit assessments. It discovered high to very high levels of Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB), Work Discipline (WD), Organizational Commitment (OC), and Work Engagement (WE) among the cooperative employees. Notably, the employees' organizational citizenship behavior emerged as the most significant predictor of work engagement. The model initially suggested the presence of serial mediation, but subsequent tests indicated insignificance. Thus, the best-fit model demonstrates direct effects of the variables on work engagement. Based on these findings, the study recommends the development of OCB initiatives within organizations to optimize the work engagement of employees in cooperatives.
