Belonging is a sense of security and support received as a result of acceptance, inclusion, and identification.

Belonging, for example, in the family system refers to a sense of being included in the entire household. It is the feeling of being understood, having fun together, desiring to spend time together, and being noticed. A sense of belonging provides students with feelings of safety, and identification in school and college, supporting intellectual, psychological, and social growth. 

Similarly, in the workplace, belonging makes your employees feel like they're a part of the team, motivating them to excel in their jobs and connect with the company. It is one of the most important factors in increasing employee engagement.

Belonging and D&I

Companies across the globe have placed a strong emphasis on diversity and inclusion with a major focus on gender, color, culture, sexual orientation, and age. At the same time, belonging is frequently confused with diversity and inclusion. But belonging, at large, is a much more powerful concept that cuts across cultures and countries.
 

It's said that diversity is like being invited to a party, inclusion is like being asked to dance, and belonging is like dancing like no one's watching. That is, belonging comes with psychological safety that allows employees to be themselves without fear of being judged. In a nutshell, true inclusivity produces a sense of belonging.

Be it at any stage of life, belonging is a core human need encoded into our DNA. Despite this, many employees report feeling isolated at work, which has resulted in weaker organizational commitment and engagement.

Here are five tips to help you create a sense of belonging in the workplace.

1. Find Reasons to Offer Employee Benefits

As an employer, you should create maximum opportunities to contribute to a sense of belonging with the help of employee perks and benefits. 

Show employees that you care about their unique needs and demands by providing benefits that apply to all demographic groups of your employees. It may range from things like flexible work schedules to emotional wellness activities. Other activities include supporting diversity by conducting events to spotlight underrepresented groups (e.g., Black History Month). All of these are extremely beneficial in fostering a sense of belonging. 

Providing such benefits and exclusive initiatives for employees' contributions to the organization demonstrates that a company is paying attention to its employees' efforts and is concerned about whether or not they feel accepted.

2. Create a Seamless Culture of Rewards and Recognition

Rewards and recognition are among the biggest contributions to a sense of belonging.

Announcing big or small wins, commemorating employees' work anniversaries, and creating unique reward systems beyond the conventional "Employee of the Month" - are all small yet valuable gestures that can make employees feel valued.

Remember, not all employees are motivated in the same way. While some prefer to be recognized in public, others prefer a private message or gift.

All employees, however, want to be rewarded for more than just showing up; they want to be recognized for contributing something special to the organization. Show them how their contributions are invaluable. To make it easier, you can get an employee recognition software that can recognize and reward your employees globally in real-time!

3. Develop a More Open and Candid Environment

Many companies do not prefer to share the big picture with their employees. They'll keep people informed on news related to their job but not about the company's overall goals and objectives. It is where they make a mistake. Because unless they understand their purpose, where, and how they fit into the organization, employee engagement will always be low. 

When you start inviting your team to share their thoughts, you will notice that excessive complaining and gossip fade away. Your employees may start to seek advice from one another. You might also see that times of hostility are being replaced with moments of partnership. That's how a strong sense of belonging may manifest, and as the leader, it all starts with you.

4. Cultivate Storytelling 

We can foster a sense of belonging by encouraging employees to share their tales, whether over a few drinks after work or as part of a planned team-building activity. Consider allocating a page or two in each edition of your company newsletter to your employees' experiences. 

Because stories are at the heart of how we see our workplace, it's critical to share stories from all employees. So, pick employees with different backgrounds and pay grades from various company departments. Furthermore, storytelling has been shown to release chemicals in our brains that make us more sensitive and empathic. 

5. Make Use of Internal Employee Surveys

Measuring workplace belonging can be difficult, but we can make a goal to boost employee happiness and track it. So, how can we determine, track and measure the happiness goals?

Employee pulse surveys are an excellent method to keep track of your progress. It would be ideal if you could track metrics based on age, gender, color, LGBT status, and even salary. Only by doing so will you see how satisfied your employees are as a group. It will also tell whether or not some groups in the work culture feel marginalized.

Author Bio

Anjan Pathak is the Co-Founder & CTO of Vantage Circle, and Vantage Fit. He is an HR technology enthusiast, very passionate about employee wellness, and actively participates in corporate culture growth.  Connect Anjan Pathak

 
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