From ‘meh’ to motivated: three ways to engage your team
When people go to work, they are motivated by four wellbeing factors. Physical, mental, emotional and financial wellbeing expectations must be fully satisfied for an employee to feel happy and engaged at work. Caring for your team and their wellbeing should be every manager’s number one priority. Without your team’s support and contributions, it is impossible to achieve your goals. Taking steps to ensure your team is content and motivated can boost engagement and move your organisation to the next level.
In this blog, we explain the business impacts of an unsupported team, explain the key drivers of employee engagement, and look at three ways you can improve engagement in your workplace.
What happens when a team feels unsupported?
Employees who feel unsupported at work often come to work with thoughts of “It’s just a job”, “The money is good” and “It pays the bills” running through their head. When the working day is over, they go home thinking “I got through it”.
Running alongside these thoughts are feelings of disconnect and disengagement from their role, colleagues and workplace. In the long-term, employees may start to resent their job, which can impact team morale and productivity.
I have news for you: the ‘meh’ feeling won’t go away on its own. Everyone in the organisation is responsible for employee engagement, from senior leaders through to line managers and colleagues.
The key to moving employees from ‘meh’ to motivated
What do each of your employees think and feel at the end of their working day? Instead of “It’s a job”, wouldn’t it be great if every team member thought the following:
“I love serving people and making our customers happy”
“I am proud to work here”
“Working here is fun”
“I look forward to coming to work every day”
“My job gives me more than just a salary”
“My colleagues are my friends”.
8 key drivers of employee engagement
Being asked for feedback and seeing it acted upon
Feeling heard and your opinions valued
Understanding how your contribution counts and is rewarded
Knowing what’s expected of you
Having the right tools and equipment to do your job
Access to learning and development opportunities
Feeling your employer cares about your wellbeing
Feeling part of a successful team
Let’s take a look at what leaders can do to boost three of these drivers, and how Zest for Life can support you.
Three ways to increase engagement in your team
1. Listening to your team and acting on feedback
Listening is one of the biggest contributing factors in employee engagement. When people don’t feel their views and opinions are being heard at work, it erodes their trust and confidence.
Who Cares Wins: The Employee Listening Index found that more than a third of UK employees think their organisation doesn’t care whether they are happy at work. The research by Ipsos Karian & Box also asked 2,000 workers in large organisations how they feel about their employer’s approach to listening, and 29% said they don’t think their employer values what they have to say.
Being asked for feedback and seeing your manager fail to act on it can severely impact colleague morale and confidence. Employees begin to feel unvalued and think ‘what is the point of speaking up when my views are ignored’. Interestingly, in the research study 90% of those who said their feedback is valued and acted upon would recommend their company as a great place to work. This highlights the positive effects of listening to team feedback, taking it on board and acting on what you learn.
2. Clear communication counts
Colleagues want to know what is going on in the business. When leaders fail to communicate effectively, the whispers and rumours start. Being clear and transparent is the best way to help your team feel involved and engaged.
Think about the big questions your team might be asking themselves, such as:
What does my manager expect me to do?
How does my role contribute to our team’s success?
What’s going on in the business?
What are we all working to achieve?
Why have certain decisions been made?
Understand that these questions may be thought, not verbalised, so don’t wait to be asked - be proactive. When your team are all able to answer the big questions, they will feel more involved and connected with their employer.
3. Learning & development opportunities
Providing employees with access to learning and development is essential if you want to attract and retain the best people. The CIPD’s annual Good Work Index 2025 found that colleagues who see prospects for development and advancement are more likely to say they perform better, recommend their employer and give discretionary effort. They are also less likely to quit.
What learning and development looks like differs for each individual. Some employees may harbour ambitions to progress the career ladder, others may prefer to develop their skills and knowledge within their current role, or take a sideways move.
As a line manager, you have to ask and listen to the needs and wants of your team to identify the type of development individuals aspire to. Knowing when to challenge and push your team beyond their current reality also has benefits. Sometimes people don’t realise their true capabilities until they are asked to step up and show them.
The benefits of an engaged, motivated team
Every employer dreams of having an engaged and motivated team. When employees are highly engaged with their work and workplace, they are committed, motivated and invested in the outcomes of their role.
The benefits to organisations are huge:
Higher engagement
Increased productivity and sales
Growing profits
Higher rates of employee wellbeing
Stronger connection/loyalty to the organisation
And while these measures increase, others go into positive decline:
Reduced rates of absence
Lower employee turnover
Fewer workplace accidents
Less chance of quality defects/poor customer service
Lower rates of theft
The role of culture in employee engagement
Creating a positive and inclusive workplace culture is one of the top 10 challenges facing employers in 2026. Company values and behaviours play an important role in setting expectations and keeping everyone on track. Employees need clear direction from the moment they are onboarded. If you don’t have clear company values, this is something Zest for Life can support your organisation to develop. It’s not enough to have a list of values in an employee handbook. Colleagues need to embrace your values and understand how they help to shape company culture.
Take time to focus on your team
Focusing on the needs of your team is one of six modules in our Exceptional Leadership Makes Sense development programme. Follow the link to learn more about the programme and how this learning helps shape a leader’s approach to supporting and engaging their team.
If you would like to talk more about our leadership development programme or learn how we can help you develop organisational values, book a free 30-minute call with Sally here.