Strengthening employees’ sense of belonging is one of the HR trends for 2022. According to Deloitte, 79% of organizations consider this area to be an important element that positively affects the company’s performance and success, and 93% agree with the statement that increasing employees’ sense of belonging drives the organization’s performance.

A sense of belonging can be spoken of when employees feel safe and comfortable in their work environment, and when they feel part of it. Belonging consists of m.in acceptance from colleagues, appreciation for individual contributions, maintaining satisfying and friendly interpersonal contacts in the workplace, as well as being respected and treated fairly.

A sense of belonging is one of the elements of DEIB. It is an acronym defining a long-term and attentive approach to shaping organizational culture based on diversity, equality, integration and a sense of belonging, which is somehow the result of the first three components. The effectiveness of DEIB is confirmed by m.in results of Deloitte research, which shows that 63% of companies combine them with a greater ability to attract and retain talent in the organization. 53% are more productive. 47% are able to manage the organization in a more sustainable way. 46% note an increase in competitive advantage in their industry. 40% are cheap to make more effective and accurate decisions.

Each member of the group should feel that their perspective is appreciated, and the work and tasks performed are useful and have a real impact on the operation of the organization or team. From a neuroscientific point of view, feelings of exclusion and rejection activate the same areas of the brain as physical pain.

Studies have shown that when people experience alienation or ostracism for a long time, e.g. in an unacceptable work environment, they show less ability to perform difficult tasks effectively, they control impulses less well, their sleep quality deteriorates, they experience anxiety, sadness, as well as feelings of helplessness and worthlessness.

Dr. Christine Cox of the Langone School of Medicine at New York University identified 6 areas in the study that are reinforced by nurturing a sense of belonging in the workplace and that deteriorate when an employee experiences exclusion. These include: intelligent thinking and reasoning, self-care, self-improvement, prosocial behavior, self-regulation, sense of purpose and well-being. Each of these areas can become a resource for the organization, if only it sees the importance of building a sense of belonging.

According to Deloitte research, just one exclusionary situation can lead to an immediate, 25% decrease in employee productivity in a team project. On the other hand, a strengthened sense of belonging results in a 56% increase in work productivity and a 75% reduction in the number of sick leave.

The advantages of employees’ sense of belonging are also important to the employer, as Belonging affects issues such as engagement, rotation, absenteeism and employee experience. The research indicated in the 2021 Culture Report proves that employee affiliation is one of the key factors in the success of an organization. 40% of employees with a strong sense of belonging rarely think about looking for another job. In addition, 51% of employees who feel belonging to a company would recommend their employer to other people. And 45% of employees who feel they belong believe they are able to achieve the highest productivity in their work.

According to a study by RedThread Research, 81% of organizations using DEIB notice increased customer satisfaction. These are companies that are twice as likely to declare that they have managed to achieve their business goals and that are optimistic about achieving future goals. And as many as 72% of these organizations see themselves as more innovative, thanks to DEIB.

David Green notes that the world has recently experienced two very significant changes that have made DEIB more noticed and appreciated. The first event was the racial inequality crisis, which was given special attention by the Black Lives Matter movement. The second change was the need to accelerate the digitization of many jobs caused by the pandemic.

The growing role and importance of Belonging in the workplace can be seen, among others, in the women in the Workplace and RedThread Research, which prove that diversity, equality and inclusion, which translate into belonging, have a direct and positive impact on business value. Still, the area of building a sense of belonging in the workplace is an untapped potential of many organizations.

In the current organizational realities, it is much more difficult to build a sense of belonging of employees. Previous gestures of sympathy, such as informal conversations at the coffee machine or in the company’s elevator, have ceased to be an obvious element of building employee affiliation. Increasingly, we work in a hybrid or remote model, and a large part of interpersonal contacts have moved from offline to computer screens.

The awareness of the organization is also increasing. Increasingly, companies are discussing the diversity of employees who want to feel accepted and equal, regardless of what gender, religion, nationality, form of employment or seniority they represent. This discussion is often started by the employees themselves, whose voice is growing in strength. That is why organizations should pay special attention to taking care of the sense of belonging of their employees. It should be, as it were, the result of a culture of diversity, equality and inclusion.

Source: https://hcmdeck.com/blog/poczucie-przynaleznosci/

Projekt otrzymał dofinansowanie z Norwegii poprzez Fundusze Norweskie 2014-2021, w ramach programu „Dialog społeczny – godna praca”.