A Culture of Belonging at Work: What it is, Why it Matters, How to Build it
Social psychologists have long known that the need to belong is an essential and universal human need. Feeling not only included, but connected to and accepted by others is fundamental to our wellbeing. As the new world of work continues to transform, successful organizations know that their success is tied to a positive, flourishing workforce. For employees, feeling a sense of belonging at work is critical to thrive.
Belonging at work
In a recent report on employee belonging, Coqual, formerly the Center for Talent Innovation, found that belonging in the workplace is made up of four unique yet interconnected factors. Employees who feel like they belong at work feel:
- Seen: employees feel positively recognized and validated for their unique contributions
- Connected: employees feel like they have authentic connections to and positive interactions with one another across the organization
- Supported: employees feel like they get what they need to work and live well
- Proud: employees feel aligned with the purpose, vision, and values of their organization
Belonging means feeling seen for your unique contributions, connected to your coworkers, supported in your daily work and career development, and proud of your organization’s values and purpose.
The importance of belonging at work
Research shows that people naturally seek connection and acceptance from those they spend time with, including coworkers. Feeling a sense of belonging helps employees feel more motivated, more collaborative, and more able to reach their full potential at work and beyond. It enhances employee engagement and increases retention.
For organizations, this translates to a workforce that is more innovative, creative, and high-achieving. In other words, it’s good for business. As companies respond to the new world of work and continue to seek the best ways to support their employees, approaches should focus on how every employee can feel like they belong.
Building a culture of belonging at work
There are many ways to build a culture of belonging. Importantly, Coqual’s research shows that real, systemic change depends on fostering belonging through all levels of an organization, including top-down from an organizational to an individual level. Employees must work together to look inwardly at their cultures and find ways that collectively create a culture of belonging. Here are some examples of what that can look like:
Organizational-level
- The organization holds everyone accountable for promoting belonging and inclusion. They have clear methods for reporting violations and they reward performance that promotes the factors of belonging.
- The organization fosters camaraderie. They dedicate budget to celebrating together and recognizing high-performers.
- Senior leaders are role models. They are representative of a diverse employee base and employees identify with their leaders.
- Senior leaders normalize and encourage personal storytelling and open communication, and forge authentic connection across the organization.
- Managers focus on championing and coaching their team members every day.
- Managers encourage autonomy, listen and seek better ways to support, and provide regular feedback and praise to their team members.
- Peers focus on supporting one another’s work-life balance and build respect and comradery in their interactions.
- Peers show gratitude for one another and provide open communication and supportive feedback to help promote one another’s best work.
Individual-level
A culture of belonging is a necessary part of a healthy, successful organization. This is true now more than ever. It benefits everyone when employees feel valued, grateful for authentic and positive interactions, supported, and proud of where they work. In other words, when they work at an organization where everyone belongs.
Interested in belonging with Brandemix? Please reach out to us.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jody Ordioni is the author of “The Talent Brand.” In her role as Founder and Chief Brand Officer of Brandemix, she leads the firm in creating brand-aligned talent communications that connect employees to cultures, companies, and business goals. She engages with HR professionals and corporate teams on how to build and promote talent brands, and implement best-practice talent acquisition and engagement strategies across all media and platforms. She has been named a "recruitment thought leader to follow" and her mission is to integrate marketing, human resources, internal communications, and social media to foster a seamless brand experience through the employee lifecycle.
