Being valued — a sense that your contributions are recognized and that you matter to the organization’s outcomes. Researchers define it as the experience of being valued as a member of the organization, being known as an individual, and feeling included in the social fabric of the team. Research on why it matters, what it requires, and how to build it in remote and hybrid environments. Interestingly, we don’t get a sense of belonging just from being with other people. The value of human engagement shifts and it expands. And in a world where technology, and AI specifically, have become ubiquitous, engagement must be uniquely human.
By creating an environment where individuals feel valued, heard, and connected, businesses not only contribute to employee well-being but also unleash the full potential https://www.suscinio.info/how-i-became-an-expert-on-7/ of their workforce. Despite these advantages, a concerning 64% of Americans report feeling a lack of belonging at work. Extensive research affirms that a sense of belonging profoundly influences mental, physical, and social well-being, making it a fundamental human need. Having a robust onboarding process can help, ensuring that employees get to know their colleagues, understand their role, and feel empowered to contribute from the start.
Take a meaningful step toward increasing belonging at your workplace by starting a conversation with colleagues on your team or at your organization. We believe in equipping leaders to cultivate organizational cultures that truly support everyone in the organization — ensuring people are better than just okay. Give people a platform to share their experiences and perspectives, so others don’t end up talking for them. What feels authentic and open in one context may feel overly personal or professionally inappropriate in another.
Organizations thrive when belonging is fostered and suffer when it’s absent. Belonging and employee engagement are key results of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) strategies. When employees show up to work confident and secure, they are able to contribute their best work. This is especially important for new teams and onboarding. The experience of being seen — literally — affects the sense of social connection. What happened spontaneously in-person now requires scheduling.
Fostering belonging with Culture Amp and Esther Perel
“The objective is not occupancy, but engagement—measured through energy, participation and return behavior,” says Fox. In this way, the best offices create experiences we want to be part of. They want the energy, the connection, the ‘being there’,” he says. He points out in his State of the Workplace 2026 Report how much people crave experiences. There’s a hunger for getting together in real life.”
Creating a Sense of Belonging in the Workplace: From Individual Practice to Organizational Design
At the time, onboarding was fairly bare-bones, and there was no formal peer-mentorship in place. I had served on her hiring committee, which made me her unofficial go-to person for workplace questions. None of us really prioritized building relationships within the unit.
See how reinforcing the human foundation helps organizations drive collective performance. Belonging emerges from moments where people feel genuinely seen and welcomed, and those moments must be deliberately created. In distributed and hybrid organizations, this intentionality is non-negotiable. The most effective belonging interventions are often the most consistent and human, small acts of attention and inclusion that accumulate into a felt sense of safety and connection over time. As AI handles more of the communication volume in organizations, human presence becomes more consequential. Research confirms that belonging uncertainty and belonging in the workplace can both be influenced by organizations and their leaders.
Create intentional opportunities for connection.
Be mindful not to push employees to share https://clojure-android.info/a-quick-overlook-of-your-cheatsheet-2/ more than they’re comfortable sharing. When someone shares an experience with you, resist responses that redirect to your perspective. In our research, we found that simply being labeled a “leader” increases speaking time by 150–300%. Power dynamics can often come into place in group settings, with those who hold more senior positions or privileged social identities taking up the most time in meetings. When a more experienced colleague steps in to share their experience and provide ongoing support, belonging uncertainty drops and commitment rises. Mentoring is one of the most powerful belonging interventions during transitions — onboarding, promotion, new managerial responsibility — because it pairs a moment of high belonging uncertainty with a direct form of relational investment.
Build stronger relationships with better skip-level meetings
Get our complimentary resource for (better) leadership today for help facilitating a productive conversation with your team on what belonging looks like at your organization. When belonging becomes part of how an organization develops its leaders — not a module or an initiative, but an expected outcome of how leadership development works — it stops being a cultural aspiration and starts being a performance advantage. Finally, discourage people from speaking for others by asking https://igaseng.com/what-a-cert-4-business-certificate-will-provide.html everyone to focus on their own experiences.
- Our sense of belonging often comes from the communities we build at work.
- Psychological safety is the feeling that you can share your honest input without fear of retaliation, criticism, or ridicule.
- Higher engagement, stronger retention, and a workplace where people feel safe, seen, and motivated to do their best.
- For people in marginalized groups, belonging at work requires the additional effort of navigating exclusionary dynamics, microaggressions, and the labor of code-switching.
- This is especially important for new teams and onboarding.
If you are, we’re right there with you — recognition at the ready. And they’re right — because when people feel seen, heard, and valued, they don’t just show up. Often, meaningful change begins with one small choice—and someone willing to make it.
Leadership Development
Belonging isn’t just between an employee and their manager; it involves the whole team. Explore our Guide on building trust through psychological safety for more insights from Esther Perel and Culture Amp research. When employees trust their manager and peers, they are more forthcoming, more open to feedback, and more willing to engage fully. Encourage managers to discuss these results with their team, explore what’s working, and brainstorm solutions to strengthen belonging. Then, you can analyze survey results by department, team, or manager to uncover microcultures and identify patterns that need attention.
