Belonging, loneliness and the future of workplace wellbeing

MD of FAIRER Consulting Dan Robertson explores the evolving relationship between belonging, loneliness and workplace wellbeing, and why inclusion and wellbeing can no longer be treated as separate conversations.  Watch the video or read the transcript below.

Video transcript

Clearly one of the big narratives in the business landscape today is the notion of belonging. I think organisations are doing a few things at the same time. Obviously the history is one of diversity and that’s really about representation. So we want people that are historically marginalised to be represented within our corporate structures and within leadership.

Then we’ve moved from diversity to inclusion, and that’s making sure that people who are different have a voice, so that they are respected, they’ve got a voice at the table, etc. And then we have this conversation about belonging. And I’m often asked, what does belonging mean to you? For me, I guess it’s about a feeling. It’s not necessarily an intellectual standpoint.

Belonging is about saying: is this a community that I want to be part of? Do I feel a sense of belonging? Do I feel warmth, respect? Do I feel that people understand who I am, where I’m coming from, and that we can all groove in the same space?

For me there’s also a connection between belonging and cohesion. When we think about belonging in our communities and neighbourhoods, can we hang out on our street corners and be our authentic selves without fear of judgement, discrimination, exclusion or covering?

Those principles that we apply within a community setting equally apply within the corporate landscape. So can I come into work and be who I am, with that strong sense of community and psychological safety? For me, belonging is fundamentally connected to psychological safety, but much more about feelings of community and space to be who I want to be in that moment.

Loneliness at work, the burden of representation and toxicity

There’s going to be much more of a spotlight on the relationship between wellbeing and inclusion at work. If that is the case, we need to be forensic in our analysis of what creates stress and pressure points in organisations. We know there are a number of dimensions around that. One of the greatest ones we are seeing more of is employee loneliness. And I think that plays out in two ways.

From a D&I perspective, because of the external noise in the marketplace and external pressure, D&I professionals and allies are feeling more lonely within this space. We don’t have that emotional support network around us.

The loneliness factor is one we are particularly concerned about. That doubles up in terms of what we call the burden of representation. Women, people of colour, members of the LGBTQ+ community, etc – we are now carrying the agenda ourselves because we’re seeing a strategic silence or withdrawal from traditional allies and supporters.

What comes with that is a greater emotional tax that we’re having to carry, together with that burden of representation. And of course what that creates is emotional stress, trauma, and so on.

The other thing we are seeing is more of a toxicity around the conversation because of the D&I backlash, and a fundamental lack of respect for what we do. So as a whole, the loneliness, the emotional tax, the lack of respect, the toxicity within our cultures, adds up to a greater set of ingredients which leads to mental ill-health rather than wellbeing.

It’s really important that organisations put frameworks in place to support not just D&I professionals but wider stakeholders from diverse communities as well. That includes things like:

1. Zero tolerance on hate speech within organisational cultures.
2. Making sure that networks like ERGs are there as support networks as well as strategic networks for diverse colleagues.
3. Making sure we have robust policies and processes around the boundaries between in-work conversations and out-of-work experiences.

We would expect organisations to be much more strategic in terms of this conversation, but also in the support mechanisms that are being built around wellbeing for D&I professionals and diverse colleagues as a whole.

Inclusion and wellbeing – why you can’t have one without the other

I often talk to clients about the relationship between inclusion and wellbeing at work, and I think that’s becoming much more mainstream. There are two ways to reflect on this. One is what I would call a structural response, and the second is a psychological response.

From a psychological perspective, if you can’t be yourself at work, if you hide who you are or cover, that causes psychological trauma and has a real impact on mental health and wellbeing. But there’s also a structural reason. The 24/7 use of technology, lack of flexible working policies, always-on culture, and long hours all compound this. We know there’s data that says if employees work 55 hours per week or more, it’s more likely to have a negative impact in terms of heart attacks, stress, and physiological harm.

So organisations need to do two things at the same time. They need to look at working patterns and processes – flexible working, long-hours culture, regulation of technology use – all of that supports work-life balance or work-life integration. And at the same time, they need the psychological dynamics in place. We need high levels ofpsychological safety and belonging.

Once we align those ingredients – alongside better technology use, policies, processes, and mitigation of toxic cultures – that’s where we start to see an uptake in wellbeing. We know that when people feel a sense of wellbeing, organisations benefit. We get higher motivation, engagement, individual performance, team performance, and organisational outcomes. We don’t want to see wellbeing as a soft topic. When we align inclusion and wellbeing, there’s a whole range of benefits that come from that.

Want help promoting inclusion in your workplace? Explore our conscious inclusion programme, which focuses on helping organisations to recognise bias, actively shape cultures around curiosity and empathy, and value difference. Alternatively, get in touch for a complimentary call with one of our consultants to see how we can help you.