Why do we crave Unity and Belonging even in the workplace?
Human beings, crave Unity and Belonging by nature. We are sociable animals, dependent on lasting relationships and bonds with other individuals in order to thrive. Unity in the workplace is just as important as finding a sense of belonging in any other environment. In recent years the move to escalate Inclusivity and include a sense of Belonging has seen tremendous results for those who adapted the strategy early on – for those who didn’t – the results were very different.
Companies who establish a culture that is inclusive, diverse and filled with moments of Belonging, often find that their teams are united, their leadership solid and the entire workforce become united; a team working together towards a common goal.
An article published by Entrepreneur Magazine listed the top five most successful work environments [sic] and why they work; they are:
- An open and sceptical environment
- Individually focused
- No walls
- Mutual feedback
- A unified working environment.
A commonality that appeared amongst all five was unity.
“A unified working environment allows people to work and operate as individuals, but still focus on succeeding as a team.” (Entrepreneur.com, 2016)
Unity and belonging within the workplace, have proven to be essential to any work culture that is seeking improved productivity, innovation, and a stable bottom line. The current climate has shown us where these criteria are at risk due to COVID-19. I think we can safely say that a sense of togetherness has proven an antidote to the 2020 crisis.
As many people find themselves working remotely under lockdown restrictions a culture of Belonging has become a source of motivation and much needed relief in the face of home offices, restricted socializing and of course illness.
A unified, diverse and inclusive workplace is a successful one because people feel much more at ease when working in a friendly environment where everybody is treated equally and provided the same opportunities.
People also tend to be at their best when they are calm and focused, with a unified and happy workforce. In addition, people like to know and feel reassured that there is support or assistance available to them should they need it.
Even in the run-up to Christmas whilst still tackling Coiv-19, people are working from home, therefore the barriers to support and help remain. The setting up of online channels in new and innovative ways has seen employees experience less overwhelm and a continued sense of belonging. For those companies Who have fully utilized all of the benefits of group meetings via video calling platforms, the improvements in productivity and of course the bottom live, clearly show that innovation works.
Case Study: Martha – Junior Marketing Assistant
Martha started her brand new Junior marketing position back in January 2020 and was very much looking forward to working with a well established and sought-after marketing firm. Upon completing her training, Martha was beginning to relish the workload and was really enjoying the friendly and unified working environment.
A few weeks in and Martha now feeling settled, always felt confident to ask for help from her team manager, on admin and work tasks. The overall environment in the firm was very friendly and inclusive.
Unfortunately, in March, Martha and her entire firm were thrown into lockdown and faced the prospect of being furloughed, as they began the arduous task of continuing contractual hours in addition to new responsibilities and working from home.
Her confidence in her ability to work well fell dramatically as she worried that she would not be able to get the support or help she needed. Surprisingly things didn’t work out quite as poorly as she had imagined.
Each week Martha engaged in weekly checkpoint meetings over zoom with her team manager and even had access to her team managers work calendar so that if she needed more immediate help then she could get in touch with them right away. Maintaining a unified working environment was still very much at the forefront of her employer’s minds.
Communication is fundamental for all businesses, even with Covid-19 and the resulting lockdown and quarantine measures resulting in the vast majority of working people becoming home based. While challenges such as Covid-19 might make communication difficult, Martha found that working digitally and from her kitchen table, was not a barrier.
In 2020, we all faced challenges never before seen in a generation. However, we have more tools and techniques at our fingertips than ever before as well. All it takes is the want and desire to create a culture of Belonging for us all to get creative and find innovative ways and means to unite and support others, in the same way, we would if we were in the same building. There is no doubt that we have all outdone ourselves this year on finding ways to express care, support and understanding for all, as with all crises, we come together in an effort to keep moving forward. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]
