Employee engagement isn't just a buzzword—it’s a business imperative. Yet if you’ve ever led a team or helped shape culture within an organization, you know how complex it is to engage people truly. Engagement doesn’t come from pizza Fridays or another survey. It comes when employees feel recognized, energized, and aligned with meaningful work. And one of the most effective, science-backed ways to get there? Helping employees understand—and use—their unique character strengths.
Let’s explore how to improve employee engagement in a way that’s authentic, sustainable, and deeply human.
Why Character Strengths Matter for Engagement
Think about the last time you were completely absorbed in your work—in the zone, doing something that felt natural and rewarding. Chances are, you were using one or more of your core character strengths. These are the positive traits that reflect who you are at your best—like curiosity, perseverance, teamwork, or kindness. And when people get to use those strengths regularly, they don’t just perform better—they feel better, too.
Character strengths fuel motivation, connection, and purpose—all essential ingredients to improving employee engagement in today’s workplace. Engaged employees are not only more productive but also more loyal to the company, contributing to higher performance and business success. This isn’t just a theory. Research confirms it.
The Science: Strengths Use and Daily Engagement
A pivotal study by Bakker et al. (2019) tracked Norwegian naval cadets over 30 days using daily questionnaires. The researchers found a clear pattern: when cadets used their character strengths during the day, they experienced higher levels of positive affect and work engagement. Even more interesting, the effects were strongest in individuals who scored high in extraversion and low in neuroticism—but all participants benefited to some degree.
The takeaway? When organizations encourage employees to use their strengths intentionally, they become more energized, motivated, and dedicated to their work.
This data shows how important it is for leaders to foster environments where strengths are recognized and activated. It’s a high-impact way to increase employee engagement without relying solely on external rewards.
Three Ways Strengths Unlock Engagement
So, how exactly do character strengths contribute to employee engagement? Here are three core mechanisms:
1. Strengths Build Authenticity and Self-Awareness
People want to bring their whole selves to work. When employees understand their strengths—especially their signature strengths, which are most natural and energizing—they gain clarity on how they contribute best. This kind of self-awareness helps employees feel seen and valued, increasing their emotional connection to their role and their team. Tools like the Total 24 Report or Top 5 Report provide a structured, science-backed way to increase awareness and foster a development focus.
Employees who are clear on their strengths are more likely to feel fulfilled, engaged, and empowered to take initiative. These are critical traits in a high-performing workforce.
2. Strengths Foster Autonomy and Purpose
Engaged employees don’t just follow instructions—they bring ideas, energy, and intention to the table. By aligning roles and projects with individual strengths, managers can increase employee engagement without needing new programs or perks. For example, they could give someone with a strength in creativity space to design a new solution or someone with kindness the opportunity to mentor a new hire.
This approach fosters a sense of purpose and ownership—key drivers of long-term satisfaction and performance. It also helps individuals connect with their role in a meaningful way, enhancing their personal connection to the organization's mission. When leaders build this mindset into how teams operate, it leads to higher trust, more transparent communication, and more effective collaboration.
3. Strengths Encourage Positive Team Dynamics
When team members understand one another’s strengths, they build more respect and psychological safety. It becomes easier to collaborate, share feedback, and navigate challenges—because people aren’t just defined by their job titles, but by the best of who they are.
This leads to stronger communication, more cohesive teams, and a culture where engagement can thrive. In this kind of environment, employees are more committed to team goals and feel more connected to shared outcomes. That sense of alignment boosts productivity, reduces conflict, and makes it easier to retain top talent.
From Concept to Culture: Bringing Strengths to the Workplace
Implementing a strength-based workplace strategy doesn’t mean overhauling your operations. It starts with intention and small, meaningful actions. Here are a few ways to integrate strengths-based thinking into your organizational culture:
- Strength Spotting: Encourage leaders to “name and notice” strengths in real time. Saying, “I really appreciate your perseverance in getting this done,” has more impact than generic praise. It also reinforces recognition practices that actually matter.
- Hiring and Onboarding: Include a strengths assessment early on. Helping new hires understand how they contribute sets the tone for a meaningful employee experience and long-term engagement.
- Team Reflections: Create space in meetings to reflect on how team members used their strengths that week. These small moments build connection and encourage active participation.
- Leadership Development: Train managers to recognize and cultivate the strengths of others, not just manage tasks. Effective leadership includes empowering people to lead from their values and skills.
For a deeper dive into how to lead this work effectively, VIA offers a Certification called Workplaces at Their Best for Consultants. It’s designed for OD consultants, Coaches, HR Professionals and Organizational Leaders who want to embed this approach across teams and departments.
These are engagement strategies that stick—because they’re built on who people already are.
The Role of Leaders: Engagement Starts at the Top
One of the most important levers in improving employee engagement is leadership. When managers and leaders model strengths-based behaviors—like using their strengths visibly, offering specific feedback, and recognizing team contributions—they set the tone for others.
In fact, leaders who understand and develop the strengths of their employees often see improvements in:
- Commitment and retention
- Job satisfaction
- Team performance
- Organizational trust and well-being
Character strengths become not just tools, but a shared language—common values that guide how people contribute and grow. When companies build this culture from the top down, the benefits ripple across the entire business.
Measuring the Impact of Strengths on Engagement
It’s natural to ask: how do we measure whether this is working?
While traditional engagement surveys can still be helpful, consider adding pulse questions around:
- How often employees get to use their strengths at work
- Whether they feel their contributions are recognized by their team or manager
- How aligned they feel between their responsibilities and personal values
You can also track outcomes like improved communication, participation in strengths-based activities, and reductions in turnover. These indicators help you measure the effectiveness of your engagement efforts in real, human-centered ways.
Final Thoughts: Engagement Is Human, Not Just a Metric
If you're exploring how to improve employee engagement, remember this: people are more than job descriptions. They’re human beings with stories, values, and inner resources that—when unlocked—can transform how they experience work.
Using character strengths isn’t a soft tactic; it’s a practical, science-backed strategy that aligns with what we know motivates and fulfills people. In a world where retention is harder, burnout is rising, and purpose is more important than ever, this approach offers a powerful and personal way forward.
Whether you lead a team of five or a workforce of five thousand, helping people recognize and use their strengths is one of the most effective ways to boost engagement and create a workplace where everyone feels empowered to contribute.
Start Implementing Character Strengths in Your Organization
If you're curious about how a strengths-based approach could boost engagement in your organization, we’d love to help. Whether you're leading a team, designing training programs, or consulting across an entire organization, we can help you find the right tools and strategies.
Contact us for a 1:1 conversation to explore the best-fit solution for your goals, culture, and people.