How A Lack Of Confidence Affects Employee Engagement

Confidence might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think about employee engagement – but it should be. When people don’t feel confident in the workplace, they hold themselves back. And when they hold back, it affects how they show up at work, how they connect with others and how much they engage with their role.

At Body Talk, we work with organisations across the globe to strengthen communication skills and build genuine engagement from the inside out. And one thing is clear: confidence is the foundation of effective workplace engagement.

In this post, we’ll explore how low confidence affects employee engagement, how you can recognise it and what you can do to help your team feel more empowered, connected and effective at work.

The Link Between Confidence and Engagement for Employees

First of all: what do we actually mean by employee engagement?

It’s more than simply turning up to work, doing your job and hitting your targets. Engagement is about emotional connection – the level of interest, commitment and energy someone brings to their role. Engaged employees are proactive, collaborative and invested in the bigger picture.

But if someone lacks confidence in their voice, their skills or their place in the team, that connection starts to unravel. They begin to doubt themselves, hold their ideas back or disengage altogether. This can cause performance to suffer, not just for the individual, but for the team as a whole. Let’s take a look at how low confidence can manifest itself at work.

How Low Confidence Impacts the Workplace

1. Silence in Meetings

Employees with low confidence tend to stay quiet in group settings. They may have ideas, questions or concerns but hold them back for fear of being wrong or judged. That means less innovation, fewer ideas and a lack of honest dialogue. It can also lead to a build up of dissatisfaction or resentment.

2. Avoiding Responsibility

When people don’t believe in their own ability, they’re less likely to take on challenges, responsibilities or other leadership opportunities. This can lead to missed opportunities for growth, lingering unsolved problems and an over-reliance on a small group of confident voices.

3. Poor Communication and Misunderstandings

Lack of confidence often shows up as unclear communication – people second-guessing themselves, apologising unnecessarily, or avoiding difficult conversations. This lack of confidence means that your ideas may not come across with authority or gravitas and are much less persuasive.

4. Low Morale and High Turnover

Over time, unconfident employees may begin to feel invisible or undervalued. This impacts morale and, if left unaddressed, can lead to people disengaging or quietly leaving the business altogether. This is sometimes referred to as ‘quiet quitting‘.

Confidence as the Key to Employee Engagement

So what happens when people do feel confident?

Confident employees communicate more clearly, take more initiative and contribute to a healthier, more collaborative workplace culture. They give better feedback and work more positively as a team. Employees who are confident and engaged are great members of the team because:

✔ They Speak Up and Contribute

Confident team members share their thoughts openly, offer feedback and aren’t afraid to challenge ideas constructively. This encourages better decision-making and faster problem-solving.

✔ They Take Ownership

When someone trusts their own judgment, they’re more likely to take responsibility and lead, even outside of formal leadership roles. That sense of ownership boosts engagement across the board.

✔ They Collaborate More Effectively

Confidence improves communication. And good communication is at the heart of every strong team. People who believe in themselves tend to listen better, respond more clearly and resolve issues faster.

✔ They Feel More Invested

When people feel confident in their role and their value, they’re naturally more engaged. They care about outcomes, feel part of something meaningful, and are less likely to check out mentally or emotionally.

What’s Holding Confidence Back?

Lack of confidence often stems from experience – not ability.

Employees might have had negative feedback in the past, little support in developing their communication skills, or simply no opportunities to practise speaking up. Common blockers include:

• Fear of public speaking

• Doubts about clarity or impact

• Nervousness around senior stakeholders

• Struggles with assertiveness

• Lack of experience handling challenging conversations

How Communication Coaching Helps

Confidence isn’t just something people are born with – it’s a skill that can be developed. Many of the communication challenges that hold employees back come down to a lack of experience, support or self-awareness. The good news is, with the right approach, these can be addressed in practical, achieveable ways.

Communication coaching is designed to help individuals develop confidence in their interpersonal skills, whether that’s speaking up in a meeting, sending an email, facilitating a group conversation or having a one-to-one. With coaching, people begin to recognise how they come across to others and feel more equipped to handle everyday workplace interactions with clarity and confidence.

Typical elements of communication coaching to build confidence include:

1. Understanding Personal Communication Style

The first step is usually about self-awareness. Most people have never been taught how they actually sound, look or impact others when they speak. Coaching helps individuals recognise their natural style and how it may be helping or hindering their message – whether that’s tone of voice, body language or language choices.

2. Building Confidence in Everyday Interactions

Speaking up in meetings, sharing ideas or handling difficult conversations can feel daunting – especially without tools to navigate them. Coaching provides strategies to calm nerves, structure thoughts clearly and express ideas in a way that feels authentic. Over time, this builds genuine confidence.

3. Developing Presence and Impact

Confidence isn’t about being loud or dominating the room. It’s about being intentional – knowing how to pause, project and connect with others in a way that feels credible. Through guided practice, employees learn how to hold attention, speak with clarity and build trust through their delivery.

4. Practising Real Scenarios That Matter

The most effective coaching is tailored to real-life situations. Rather than generic tips, the focus is on helping people prepare for conversations, meetings, and presentations they actually face- from handling feedback to leading team updates. This makes the learning practical and directly applicable.

The Broader Impact of Communication Confidence

When employees learn to communicate with more confidence, the effects ripple through the organisation:

• Teams collaborate more effectively, with fewer misunderstandings and more open dialogue.
• Ideas are shared more freely, leading to innovation and better problem-solving.
• Individuals feel more engaged, because they feel heard, understood and able to contribute.
• Morale improves, as people build stronger relationships and trust across teams.

Ultimately, employee engagement is directly tied to how confident staff feel in their communication. Taking time to develop communication skills leads to a more connected, resilient and proactive workforce – one where employees aren’t just present, but actively engaged and contributing to shared success.

Want to learn more about how communication coaching can boost your team’s engagement?
Get in touch with us at ukbodytalk.com to book a free consultation or explore our range of training programmes.