In today’s workplace, “belonging” has become a buzzword—often featured in mission statements, DEI strategies, and leadership speeches. But despite its growing prominence, many organisations still find it incredibly difficult to foster genuine belonging among employees. Why is that?
The answer lies in the complexity of what belonging truly means—and the gap between performative gestures and meaningful, systemic change.
Belonging Is More Than Simple Inclusion
Belonging is not just about being included in a meeting or having a seat at the table. It’s about ensuring employees are seen, heard, known, and valued—what researchers Stride et al. (2024) call the “Four Anchors of Belonging.” These anchors go beyond surface-level inclusion to address the emotional and relational depth of workplace culture.
Yet, many companies stop at surface level inclusion without doing the deeper work of creating environments where people feel psychologically and emotionally safe to be their authentic selves.
It’s Both Emotional and Political
Belonging is deeply personal— there is an emotional component of ‘feeling at home’ in a space. But it is more than an individual feeling. It is also political, involving power dynamics, recognition, and access.
Organisations often overlook this dual nature. They may promote diversity without addressing the systemic barriers that prevent marginalised groups from feeling like they truly belong. For example, in our work at Becoming International, we often see employees from minority ethnic backgrounds looking for people like themselves in their search to belong in their company.
As Bryer (2019) notes, the danger is corporate belonging can be co-opted into a feel-good narrative that masks exclusionary practices, even as companies demand loyalty and commitment from employees. For minorities and underrepresented groups, the challenge is even greater. Systemic exclusion, microaggressions, and lack of representation can erode any sense of belonging, no matter how inclusive the policies may appear on paper.
Belonging Is a Process, Not a Destination
One of the most overlooked truths about belonging is that it’s not a static state—it’s an action.
It requires continuous effort, reflection, and adaptation. This dynamic nature makes it hard to “check off” on a to-do list. Belonging is not a given or something we accomplish once. The world, our organisations, our relationships are constantly changing. Rather it is something we keep achieving through an active process. It must be embedded into the daily rhythms of organisational life—from how meetings are run to how feedback is given and how leadership is practiced.
Similarly, few of us feel a sense of belonging to merely one group, culture or place. We experience multiple senses of belonging, reflecting the intersectional nature of ourselves – age, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, hobbies, culture, education and more. Belonging is shaped by relationships, culture, and context.
So what makes one person feel they belong might not work for another. This makes it difficult to apply a one-size-fits-all approach. Leaders must be attuned to the diverse needs and lived experiences of their teams.
It Starts with the Self—but Requires Systemic Support
Perhaps surprisingly, individuals need to recognise their personal responsibility in creating belonging. It starts with each of us engaging in those meaningful day to day activities across all aspects of our lives, of reflecting on our inner experience and growing into new skills and capabilities. In accepting who we are, we can take the first step to build relationships and participate in groups which enhance our belonging.
While self-acceptance is a foundational step in the journey to belong, it’s not enough. Additionally, organisations must create the conditions where people can show up as their full selves without fear of judgment or penalty. This means fostering cultures of psychological safety, shared power, and mutual respect.
The Cost of Getting It Wrong
When belonging is absent, the consequences are real: lower engagement, higher turnover, reduced performance, and increased burnout. According to Deloitte, fostering belonging can lead to a 56% increase in job performance and a 50% reduction in turnover risk. The business case is clear—but the human case is even stronger.
So, What Can Companies Do?
- Embed belonging into everyday practices: From onboarding to leadership development. When and how do leaders see, hear, understand and value their teams and employees. How can they improve?
- Ask questions, listen deeply and act: Belonging is neither a one and done action, nor the same for everyone. Seek out the views of your workforce on the most helpful actions that would enable them to belong. Recognise and value the emotional labour it can take those from marginalised backgrounds to find ways to belong.
- Measure what matters: Resist the urge to only measure how employees feel about belonging in your business. Ensure you track how well leaders and colleagues are taking the actions that create belonging, as a key driver of organisational health.
Belonging isn’t a perk—it’s a strategic imperative. But it’s also a deeply human one. To truly cultivate belonging, organisations must be willing to do the hard, ongoing work of cultural transformation. Because when people belong, they don’t just stay—they thrive.
This blog accompanied a Safe Space Event on Belonging in July 2025.
To read more about the outcomes of the event, check out these two blogs:
Belonging at work: Reflections from a Safe Space conversation
Belonging is an action: Reflections from a Safe Space conversation
