This article is part 5 of a 6 part series on “Leading the Future of the Post-pandemic Workplace” – you can find the series here
Belonging is one of our most basic human needs; it is the feeling of being safe, included, and accepted in a group. In the workspace, belonging means having the sense that one can bring their whole self to work. Research shows that we are at our healthiest, most productive, and innovative when we feel part of a team [1,2,3].
A sense of belonging is highly correlated with work engagement and wellbeing [4,5,26]. In a recent survey, 79% of respondents said belonging is important to their organization’s success in the next 12-18 months, and 93% agreed that a sense of belonging drives organizational performance [4]. Moreover, employees who felt a sense of belonging at work had a lower risk of turnover, lower absenteeism, were more committed, motivated, and more likely to be proud of and to promote their workplace [6,26].
Yet, the pandemic with its remote work and social distancing has made belonging even more essential to employees today. Recent research shows that the impact of belonging on employee happiness increased by 12% in 2020, and in 2021, for the first time ever, belonging was selected as one of the top three drivers of a great work culture [7].
However, the majority of the employees—61% on average and up to 84% for minorities—still claim they need to hide a part of their identity at work to assimilate better [8]. There is an apparent misalignment between employees and leaders when it comes to belonging. Although most leaders (68%) felt they created empowering environments where employees could feel a sense of belonging, only 36% of employees agreed [9]. This misalignment—which we dubbed the Divide—has yet to be resolved. While a recent pre-covid study shows that 40% of employees feel isolated or excluded at work [10], only 13% of companies today say they are very ready to address this need [4].
The science of belonging
Our emotional need for belonging is hard-wired into our brains as part of our human evolution. Recent studies found that belonging triggers a craving response similar to hunger [11] and that we react to social exclusion by activating the same regions of our brain’s physical pain system. This feeling of pain alerts us that we have sustained an injury to our social connections [12] and allows us to take restorative measures [13]. Moreover, studies show that ostracism at work is very common [14], and even a single minor incidence of exclusion can lead to an immediate decline in an individual’s performance on a team project [6], as well as a decrease in job dissatisfaction, health problems, and higher job turnover [14].
Interestingly, belonging was highly correlated with depression, even more than social support and loneliness; Lower levels of belonging predicted depression [15], while higher levels of belonging buffered against symptoms of depression and anxiety [16].
Beyond Diversity and Inclusion – taking the next step
The subject of Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) was covered extensively on this blog, for example, here and here. Yet, it is important to note that Belonging differs from Diversity and Inclusion in many ways. For example, a 2020 survey found that while 9 in 10 employees described their companies as diverse, 3 in 10 said they didn’t feel a sense of inclusion or belonging [17] at work.
Diversity involves statistics and numbers; it is about letting go of biases and allowing everyone into the room. Inclusion is the behavior; It is about inviting everyone to sit at the table. Belonging is the feeling of connectedness and meaning that these people have and how much does the environment supports them in feeling at home.
Belonging, as opposed to D&I, is broader in scope. While diversity and inclusion often focus on minorities, anyone and everyone can experience exclusion at work [8,14]. This exclusion leads to employees hiding or downplaying parts of themselves and is what Prof. Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey refer to as the second job [18]—the job no one is paying you to do. The second job is when “most people are spending time and energy covering up their weakness, managing other people’s impressions of them, showing themselves to their best advantage, … hiding their uncertainties, hiding their limitations, hiding” [18]. This second job is mentally and emotionally exhausting and takes a heavy toll on work engagement and performance.
It is noteworthy to mention that while D&I is essential, forward-thinking organizations today focus less on how D&I looks and more on how it feels. Thus, moving from Diversity and Inclusion towards Belonging.
The Business Case for Belonging
The progression from Diversity to Inclusion to Belonging is often gradual, and organizations reaching a higher level of Diversity and Inclusion are already enjoying many business benefits. Studies have found that these companies (1) multiply the likelihood of company-led innovation by six times, (2) increase 36% in the likelihood of financially outperforming as compared to other non-D&I companies, (3) see a 59.1% increase in creativity, innovation and openness, (4) 59.7% increase in the ability to attract and retain talent, (5) and a 57.8% gain in company’s reputations, to name a few (see here for a full review of Diversity and Inclusion business-case benefits).
When adding the layer of Belonging—making employees feel connected and meaningful—organizations take their teams to the next level.
A 2019 pre-Covid research found that belonging was highly correlated with engagement and wellbeing [4,5,26], such that people who feel a higher sense of belonging exhibited 56% higher performance, had twice as many raises in a six months period, and were promoted 18 times more than those with low
levels of belonging. These employees who had high rates of belonging also experienced 50% lower turnover risk and took 75% fewer sick days off within a twelve-month period, leading to an estimated annual gain of some $64 million per 10,000 employees [6]. Additionally, research during the pandemic showed that a sense of belonging even reduced the effect of employees’ Zoom fatigue [27].
Conversely, studies show that those individuals who experienced exclusion at work were unwilling to perform at their best for their team, even at the cost of hurting their own financial interests [6].
Belonging in the time of Covid
During the pandemic, many employees working remotely reported a weakening sense of belonging [19], leading to higher rates of stress levels, fatigue, burnout, and loneliness. Multiple studies show that 62% of employees in 2021 experienced more stress and anxiety at work than any year before, a 12% increase in burnout rates in 2021, as well as losing connection with their co-workers and feeling isolated.
On the other hand, remote work has also strengthened employee connections. One study [20] found that when working remotely, 39% of the people were more likely to be their full, authentic selves at work and 31% were less likely to feel embarrassed or ashamed when their home life shows up at work. Interestingly, such an increase in intimate interactions with fellow employees led to a rise in work relationships (+12 percentage points), higher productivity (+ 23 percentage points), and better overall wellbeing (+9 percentage points) [20]. This leads to the conclusion that organizations that are more highly invested in remote work may be a safer, more inclusive environment conducive to a higher level of belonging [7].
Why is it so important to focus on belonging today?
Many surveys today show that an estimated 40% of the employees across countries, organizations, and roles are considering leaving their companies in the next six months [21,22,23]. This phenomenon is referred to as the Great resignation (and more recently also the Great Reshuffle [24]). Interestingly, 36% of employees who have already quit their jobs during the pandemic have done so without having any other job lined up for them as a safety net.
When asked, 39% of the respondents reported they would leave their job for a place that would make them feel like themselves. For millennials belonging played an even more significant role, as 53% said they would leave their current organization for a more inclusive one. More importantly, in a recent McKinsey survey, 51% of the employees said they would quit their jobs if they didn’t feel a sense of belonging at work [21], and 23% of employees reported already leaving an organization because the atmosphere did not make them comfortable being themselves [25].
On the flip side, when it comes to new talent attraction, the top most important cultural aspect employees care about when choosing an organization to work for is “An atmosphere where I feel comfortable being myself” (47%) [25]. This is an amazing shift considering that just a year ago, belonging was in the 6th place when employees were asked what makes a great work culture [7]. In addition, employees who feel a higher sense of belonging are much better recruiters. Research finds that these employees are 167% more likely to recommend and promote their workplace to others.
In these crucial times, as competition between organizations in search of the ‘top talent’ increases and 2 in 5 employees consider switching a job, organizations and teams that allow employees to bring their true authentic selves to the workplace stand a significantly higher chance of experiencing higher talent retention and attraction rates.
In the next part of this article, we present a five-part plan on that leaders need to follow today to induce a culture of Belonging.
Resources:
[1] Social neuroscience and health: neurophysiological mechanisms linking social ties with physical health
[2] Lambert, N. M., Stillman, T. F., Hicks, J. A., Kamble, S., Baumeister, R. F., & Fincham, F. D. (2013). To belong is to matter: Sense of belonging enhances meaning in life. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 39(11), 1418-1427.
[3] Baumeister, R. F., & Leary, M. R. (1995). The need to belong: desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117(3), 497.
[4] Deloitte, 2020 – Belonging: from comfort to connection to contribution
[5] HBR, 2019 – The Value of Belonging at Work
[6] Betterup report,2020
[7] Glint, 2021: Employee Well Being Report
[8] Kenji Yoshino and Christie Smith, Uncovering talent: A new model of inclusion, Deloitte Development LLC, December 6, 2013
[9] Accenture, 2020: Getting to Equal
[10] HBR,2019: The Surprising Power of Simply Asking Co-workers How They’re Doing
[11] Acute social isolation evokes midbrain craving responses similar to hunger, 2020
[12] Why does social exclusion hurt? The relationship between social and physical pain, 2005
[13] Does rejection hurt? An FMRI study of social exclusion, 2003
[14] Is Negative Attention Better Than No Attention? The Comparative Effects of Ostracism and Harassment at Work, 2014
[15] Low Sense Of Belonging Is A Predictor Of Depression, 1999
[16] College Students’ Sense of Belonging and Mental Health Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic, 2021
[17] Global companies are diverse but not inclusive Published March 27, 2020
[18] An Everyone Culture: Becoming a Deliberately Developmental Organization, by Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey, 2016
[19] Mckinsey,2021: It’s time for leaders to get real about hybrid
[20] Microsoft, 2021: The Work Trend Index
[21] McKinsey, 2021: ‘Great Attrition’ or ‘Great Attraction’? The choice is yours
[22] Gallup, July 2021: The ‘Great Resignation’ Is Really the ‘Great Discontent’
[23] PWC, 2021: PwC’s U.S. Remote Work Survey
[24] LINKEDIN CEO, 2021: Ryan Roslansky
[25] Deloitte, 2020: Unleashing the power of inclusion Attracting and engaging the evolving workforce
[26] Culture Amp, 2018: How important is employee belonging?
[27] Bennett, A. A., Campion, E., Keener, K., and Keener, S. (2021). Videoconference fatigue? Exploring changes in fatigue after videoconference meetings during COVID-19. Journal of Applied Psychology, 106 (3), pp. 330-344.
