5 Tips to Nurture a Sense of Belonging in Business

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As human beings, we all long to belong. No matter our race, ethnicity, or religion, we all want to be accepted for who we are and to feel connected to something larger than ourselves.

Decades ago, psychologist Abraham Maslow recognized this longing as a fundamental drive in the human spirit. Today the COVID-19 pandemic—alongside an overdue and ongoing reckoning with systemic racism—has cast belonging in a new light, especially when it comes to our workplaces.

Businesses and organizations have come to appreciate that employees are more than resources. They’re human beings with worries and struggles—people with a yearning for the support of their peers in navigating life’s challenges and triumphs.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that belonging is good for business to boot.

According to a study by BetterUp, a sense of belonging can lead to a 56 percent increase in job performance and a 75 percent decrease in sick days. People who feel that they belong perform better, show more resilience, and are more willing to challenge themselves. Yet, according to a 2019 study, 40 percent of people say that they feel isolated at work. Minorities especially report feeling out of place, specifically because of the color of their skin.

Despite the increase in diversity and inclusion programs, research suggests that bias training can actually backfire. Mandatory training is often met with resistance, if not resentment, and some participants actually report more animosity toward other groups afterward. In other words, diversity and inclusion programs can wind up amplifying the very differences that they seek to unravel.

How, then, can businesses and organizations create a culture that fosters a genuine sense of belonging?

Here are just a few ways that you can begin to nurture more belonging in your workplace and amongst your team, even remotely:

1. Normalize concerns about belonging.

Just as we all want to belong, most of us are regularly beset by anxieties that we don’t. Studies show that these insecurities can undermine motivation and limit achievement. If, on the other hand, we normalize these concerns and demonstrate that they lessen over time, our anxieties lose some of their power over us.

Rather than tiptoe around these fears, try facing them head-on. If you are a team leader, being vulnerable and sharing your own insecurities can go a long way toward fostering identification amongst your colleagues. Mentorship programs can also encourage people who may feel excluded or out of place to reach out proactively.

2. Acknowledge and respect differences.

It’s important to note that normalizing our concerns about belonging is not the same as denying our differences. In fact, difference-education programs can empower people who feel like outsiders to embrace their unique backgrounds and experiences as strengths rather than weaknesses.

Try facilitating conversations that invite diverse perspectives and create friction. By friction, I mean the sort of free-floating collision of disparate ideas that encourages people to assess their perspectives and solutions more thoroughly.

3. Emphasize what we have in common.

While it’s essential to acknowledge our unique backgrounds, lived experiences, and challenges, it’s also important to highlight the things we all share.

In a 2015 study, researchers conducted an “intervention” for women in a predominantly male engineering program. By emphasizing hardships that both genders face, researchers cultivated a sense of belonging based on aspects of self-identity beyond gender, ultimately eliminating the gender gap in grade point averages.

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When we can understand one another as whole people with families, dreams, hobbies, and hardships—as opposed to office automatons—we can begin to dismantle interpersonal barriers. Plus, when diverse people bring their own unique experiences and viewpoints to the table, you’re more likely to uncover novel solutions and innovative ideas.

4. Be intentional about inclusion.

We all feel belonging differently. For some, it might mean more “water cooler” conversations to connect on a personal level. For others, it could mean being invited to speak up at a meeting. No matter how you define inclusion, it must be a conscious effort—otherwise, we risk unintentional exclusion.

For example, a shy colleague may not feel comfortable volunteering an idea in a team meeting. Carve out enough time for everyone to give their input, and call on those who haven’t spoken. You can also try asking for input on a shared document where people have more space and time to collect and share their thoughts.

You might also consider how your teams are structured and how people with different perspectives can be brought together to solve problems outside their day-to-day work. Working toward a common goal can dissolve the divisions we subconsciously impose upon ourselves and others.

5. Establish a shared sense of purpose.

While most people crave a sense of purpose in their work, the search for it is often pushed aside when there are profit margins to consider. Yet, a shared sense of purpose is essential to creating a workplace of belonging.

A business’s or brand’s purpose is more than just a tagline or an elevator pitch. It’s the foundation for everything that a brand or business does. It is a combination of what drives you and the beliefs that define you. It can determine what impact your brand has on the world and what sets you apart from others in your industry.

If you haven’t already, take the time to clearly define your organization’s or team’s purpose and values. Communicate that vision with your colleagues in a way that motivates and inspires them. Most importantly, empower your team to leverage their unique characteristics and contributions in service of that vision.

Note that it’s important to regularly return to your purpose and values to make sure that they still accurately reflect your current direction.

Genuine belonging at work means feeling acknowledged for your unique contributions, supported in your career development, and connected to your organization’s values and purpose.

Beyond increasing your team’s engagement or performance, the bottom line is that we all suffer when we fail to create a work culture of belonging. Talent goes overlooked, ideas go unheard, and innovative solutions wither on the vine. If we’re going to thrive as a human species that still operates within these business systems, then let’s take these times as an opportunity to reimagine our roles and reinvent our workplaces to be people-centered—not productivity-centered.