In preparing for participation in an upcoming workshop on belonging, I got to thinking - "How are belonging and employee engagement connected to each other?" With a bit of thinking, the answer emerges from the mist — the very forces that appear to power engagement—vigor, dedication, and absorption—can either amplify belonging or attenuate it. The difference is how you design the norms, rituals, and guardrails around them.

A quick primer: What is V-D-A?

The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) defines engagement as a positive work-related state characterized by vigor (energy), dedication (meaning/commitment), and absorption (deep focus/flow). Think: how energized I feel, how much this matters, how immersed I am. wilmarschaufeli.nl

Why belonging matters

Belonging is the felt experience of being seen, accepted, and valued in a group. Psychology has long framed it as a basic human need that shapes motivation, emotion, health, and behavior—so it’s not “soft stuff”, it’s performance infrastructure. persweb.wabash.edu

The Amplifier / Attenuator Model

1) Vigor (energy)

• Amplifier: Social energy—people check in, lend a hand, celebrate wins; the room lifts.
• Attenuator: Busyness without attunement—high RPMs, low presence; others feel invisible.

What to install

• Connection chores: rotate micro-acts (welcome calls, buddy check-ins, gratitude notes) so vigor has a relational outlet.
• Connection KPIs: track simple signals (peer assists, intros made, shout-outs) alongside output.

2) Dedication (commitment/meaning)

• Amplifier: A shared, lived “why” that builds we-ness.
• Attenuator: Dedication that becomes exclusive (to a status, silo, or subculture) shrinks who gets to belong.

What to install

• Purpose → rituals: co-author a one-page purpose and close cycles with customer/community impact vignettes.
• Rotate the mic: who presents wins, who facilitates, who sets agendas—spread ownership to spread belonging.

3) Absorption (deep focus/flow)

• Amplifier: Co-absorption—pairing, mobbing, co-writing—creates synchrony, trust, and shared mastery.
• Attenuator: Solitary absorption crowds out relationships; people re-surface drained and unavailable.

What to install

• Joint-flow windows: e.g., Tue/Thu 2–4pm for voluntary pair blocks with light sign-ups.
• Re-entry rituals: 2-minute debriefs after deep work (“what I learned / who I need / what I can offer”). Research on group flow highlights conditions like shared goals, equal participation, close listening—design for them. ERIC

The four moderators (what flips V-D-A from help to harm)

1. Norms & rewards: If only individual output is rewarded, V-D-A narrows belonging. Reward prosocial energy and voice, and V-D-A widens it.
2. Boundaries & recovery: Without hard stops and tech-off windows, vigor + absorption cannibalize relational bandwidth—and can spill into work–family conflict (a documented “dark side” when engagement is unmanaged). PMC
3. Psychological safety: When it’s safe to speak up and take risks, dedication bonds to the group, not just the task—unlocking team learning. dash.harvard.edu
4. Identity alignment: If people must mask who they are to “fit,” dedication buys acceptance at the cost of authenticity; belonging shrinks.

Simple diagnostic (run this in your next retro)

Rate each 1–7:

1. Energy with empathy: Do high-energy folks create space for others—or consume all the oxygen?
2. Commitment language: Do we hear we/us/together more than my/silo/status?
3. Flow with re-entry: After deep-focus periods, do we intentionally re-surface and reconnect?

Low scores flag likely attenuators. High scores signal amplifiers at work.

FORRGIVESS × V-D-A (how your values steer the engines)

• Vigor ↔ Energy (E), governed by Respect (R) and Visibility (V) → enthusiasm that lifts others.
• Dedication ↔ Focus (F), Results (R), Growth (G), tempered by Openness (O) and Selflessness (S) → commitment that widens the circle.
• Absorption ↔ Focus (F), Innovation (I), structured as shared flow with Visibility (V) via re-entry rituals.
• Sustainability (S) underwrites boundaries so performance and relationships endure.

Case in point: “Maple Labs” turns the corner in 6 weeks

Context. Maple Labs (120 people) had strong engagement scores but rising attrition in Product/Design. Pulse comments read: “We ship a lot, but I feel alone.”

Moves.

• Vigor → visible care: they introduced “two helping reps/week” (15 minutes each) and a #thanks-wall in all-hands.
• Dedication → shared meaning: a one-page purpose kicked off the quarter; demos ended with a 90-second customer story.
• Absorption → co-absorption: Tue/Thu 2–4pm became optional pair blocks; every deep-work block ended with a 2-minute re-entry.
• Guardrails: leaders batch-sent emails after hours and kept a hard 45-minute meeting cap.

Results (6 weeks).

• Help offers logged ↑ 48%; cross-team shout-outs ↑ 62%.
• Belonging item “I feel seen by my team” ↑ from 5.1 to 6.2/7.
• Designers reporting “isolation after deep work” ↓ from 41% to 17%.
• Release quality held steady; no slip in throughput.

Takeaway. The work didn’t slow. The way of working changed—V-D-A was steered through FORRGIVESS rails so energy, commitment, and focus knit people together.

Your 30-day starter plan

Week 1 — Set rails

• Publish a one-page why this quarter matters.
• Add a “Seen & Supported” 5-minute close to standing meetings.

Week 2 — Make flow social

• Pilot two joint-flow windows.
• Teach the 2-minute re-entry. Leaders go first.

Week 3 — Reward connection

• Add connection KPIs (assists, intros, shout-outs) to team dashboards.
• Rotate facilitation and demo storytellers.

Week 4 — Protect bandwidth

• Announce no-meeting focus windows and delayed-send after 6pm.
• In the retro, run the 3-question diagnostic; choose one amplifier to double-down on next sprint.

Don't miss out on assessment of where things sit, in your organization, regarding engagement. Using our Engagement View platform, we can help you understand your strengths, your weaknesses, and where things can be shaped and steered to gain you real advantage.