Strengths Use for Tasks and Relationships in Organizations: Development and Validation of a Strengths Use Scale

Abstract

Individual character strengths have been increasingly valued, as they facilitate social functioning, well-being, and performance. However, little is known about how individuals use their strengths for important but distinct goals including task accomplishment and relationship maintenance in organizations. The purpose of this study is to develop and validate a Strengths Use Scale that can be used to measure the use of strengths for tasks and relationships in the workplace. For this purpose, we used the exploratory mixed-method design and conducted a series of studies. In Study 1, we conducted an exploratory factor analysis to ensure the construct validity of the Strengths Use Scale on a sample of 187 employees. We found that the scale comprises two dimensions: strengths use for tasks and strengths use for relationships. In Study 2a, we verified the two-factor structure of the Strengths Use Scale using the confirmatory factor analysis on a separate sample of 213 employees. The results of Study 2b demonstrated that the scale has good measurement invariance across gender and age groups, on the sample of 205 employees. Moreover, strengths use for tasks and strengths use for relationships positively correlated with well-being and work engagement and negatively correlated with turnover intention, supporting the criterion-related validity of the scale. In Study 3, a test–retest reliability analysis with a sample of 94 employees indicated that the scale has high reliability. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

How do employees’ strengths use for tasks and strengths use for relationships interact to influence their job performance?

“…task accomplishment and relationship maintenance). SUT refers to the use of one's strengths to accomplish work-related tasks (Hai and Park, 2022). Examples of SUT include using one's strengths to fulfil job requirements and applying one's strengths to resolve task-related difficulties.…”

“…SUR includes exerting one's strengths to build positive interpersonal relationships with others and make people at work feel comfortable. SUT may help employees successfully carry out job duties and achieve work goals, whereas SUR is beneficial for the establishment and maintenance of favorable relationships at work (Hai and Park, 2022). This two-dimensional strengths use construct captures different but important forms of strengths use in organizations and allows us to investigate unique management phenomena within the Chinese cultural context.…”

“…Grounded in strengths use theory, prior studies have provided initial evidence that SUT can fulfill employees' psychological needs, facilitate thriving at work and enhance their job performance (Moore et al, 2022(Moore et al, , 2023. SUR is positively associated with employees' well-being and work engagement, and is negatively related to turnover intention (Hai and Park, 2022).…”

“…Ouyang et al, 2019;Parker and Collins, 2010;Parker et al, 2006). SUT is beneficial for task achievement and goal progress, which may facilitate employees' confidence in performing a broad range of work tasks, whereas SUR is conducive to relationship building and maintenance, which helps employees increase their confidence in performing interpersonal tasks and communicating across production boundaries (Hai and Park, 2022). Accordingly, we expect that when both SUT and SUR are high, employees' role breadth self-efficacy will be maximized.…”

Linking the Perceived Strength Supports Both From Organization and Supervisor to Performances: The Roles of Strengths-Based Climate and Meaningful Task

“…First, as it is closely associated with employees’ confidence and vitality (Van Woerkom & Meyers, 2015), we expect that the strengths-based psychological climate generated by congruence is positively associated with task performance. When employees perceive greater opportunities for strengths identification, development, and application in the workplace (i.e., a good strengths-based psychological climate), they are highly likely to leverage their personal strengths consciously or unconsciously at work (Hai & Park, 2022; Van Woerkom et al, 2022); this allows them to effectively achieve their work goals and leads to better task performance (Chang et al, 2022). A high strengths-based psychological climate brings about a sense of self-worth and being valued (Van Woerkom & Meyers, 2015), motivating employees to invest more effort into their work and achieve better task performance.…”