Three Simple Ways to Help Your Coworkers Feel Like They Belong
Research shows that a sense of belonging not only contributes to happiness at work, but also to higher levels of productivity. In fact, employees who feel a sense of belonging at work report greater job satisfaction and engagement, take fewer sick days, and have less job turnover. What’s more, people who feel they belong are 8.7x more likely to intend to stay with their organization for the next year than those who don’t!
Creating a culture of belonging and inclusivity is the key to a more positive workplace, but it can often feel like a daunting undertaking if you don’t have the resources to get started.
Interested in learning more about how to get involved? Here are 3 actionable steps you can take to promote belonging on your team.
- Develop personal relationships with coworkers
Getting to know your coworkers as whole people, and not just colleagues, can help create a culture of belonging. Consider reaching out to members of your team for an informal chat or cup of coffee, especially new employees or employees that you haven’t connected with in the past. This is especially useful for breaking down organizational silos that can leave people feeling isolated or excluded.
- Recognizing talents/diverse skills of workers
Employees are more likely to feel they belong when they feel “seen” by their coworkers and leaders. Recognition might come in the form of praise during a team meeting or a team email highlighting someone’s recent contribution or accomplishment. You might reach out to your colleague to jointly problem-solve or to leverage their strengths when starting a new project. It is important to recognize employees’ individual strengths and contributions in order to build an inclusive culture.
- Be intentional about combating exclusion
You can foster inclusion by deliberately combating exclusion in formal and informal ways. This might mean ensuring that relevant stakeholders are included on meeting invitations, encouraged to share ideas in a group setting, or included in team bonding activities. Promoting inclusion and belonging can also be as simple as inviting colleagues to lunch who aren’t typically included.
Fostering belonging in the workplace requires that employees at all levels have the tools they need to be successful. That’s where Vityl comes in. Keep an eye on your My Belonging pages for more relevant nudges and resources.
