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How Belonging Is Really Built at Work

Belonging at work is built through everyday human interactions, not formal policies. Small actions that help people feel seen, safe, valued, included, and respected compound over time. When work feels meaningful and relationships feel genuine, belonging strengthens engagement, retention, and workplace culture.

This article was written by Ashley C. Jordan Ph.D. and published in Psychology Today.

When I started at my current job, I was hired into a brand new unit. There were only three of us, and we each operated mostly in our own silo. There was no hostility or toxicity, but there wasn’t much connection, either. We had all lived in the area for a while and already had our own friends, families, hobbies, and routines outside of work. None of us really prioritized building relationships within the unit.

That changed when we hired a new colleague from out of state, whom I’ll call Stacey.

I had served on her hiring committee, which made me her unofficial go-to person for workplace questions. At the time, onboarding was fairly bare-bones, and there was no formal peer-mentorship in place. Stacey began reaching out to ask if I wanted to meet for coffee or lunch. Eventually, I invited others from the unit to join us. Before long, casual coffee breaks became a semi-regular thing.

Stacey later told me those get-togethers mattered more than I had realized. She didn’t know many people in the area, and work had become her main source of social connection. Those informal moments helped her feel like she belonged.

Unfortunately, Stacey didn’t stay for long. Within a few months of joining the unit, she received an offer back in her home state and no one tried very hard to convince her to stay.

She left, but her impact didn’t.

Nearly 10 years later, our unit still gathers regularly. Sometimes it’s organized lunches, sometimes it’s end-of-semester happy hour, we even had Zoom coffee hours during Covid. The format has changed across time, but the habit stuck. One small suggestion reshaped the culture in lasting ways.

The experience taught me something important: a sense of belonging doesn’t happen overnight. It’s something we can create, often through small, ordinary actions.

A Recipe for Belonging at Work

If your workplace doesn’t feel as connected as you’d like, you don’t need permission or a formal initiative to begin. Belonging isn’t built through a single policy or program. It’s more like a recipe. No single ingredient works on its own. And the proportions matter. Here are some of the core ingredients that help belonging take shape:

Feeling Seen

In many workplaces, people become synonymous with their role. There’s the IT guy, the payroll lady, and the front desk person. But when we reduce people to their job titles, we miss the human behind the role. Using someone’s name, acknowledging their presence, and recognizing them as more than their position helps people feel noticed, appreciated, and connected to the larger organization.

Feeling seen is often the first step toward belonging.

Feeling Safe

You can’t feel like you belong somewhere if you don’t feel safe there. Maslow’s (1943) hierarchy reminds us that safety needs come before belonging needs. In fact, the need for safety and security is so foundational, that only physiological needs (e.g., air, food, water) come before it.

But safety is more than just physical safety. Psychological safety matters just as much. Psychological safety looks like people being unafraid to speak up, ask questions, disagree with others, and make mistakes without fear of embarrassment or retribution. When people don’t feel safe, they withdraw. When they do, they engage.

Feeling Valued

Historically, the extent to which a person feels valued in their workplace has been measured using surveys of Perceived Organizational Support (Eisenberger et al., 1986). When a person feels their organization values their opinions, cares about their well-being, and wants them to be satisfied at work, they tend to feel valued.

But there’s so much more we can do to help colleagues feel valued, too. Celebrating wins matters. So does treating mistakes as learning opportunities rather than moments for punishment. When people feel valued as humans (not just producers), they’re more likely to stay invested.

Read this article in full here: The Building Blocks of Belonging at Work