Have you ever experienced being the odd person out? Maybe you were in elementary school on the playground and the kids you wanted to play with did not share the same desire. Or perhaps you went out with a group of friends. They were all talking and laughing about an event you did not attend, and suddenly, you felt very left out.
It is a hollow feeling, isn’t it?
That is probably because “belonging” is a basic human need, according to Abraham Maslow’s white paper, “A Theory of Human Motivation,” which was published in Psychological Review in 1943. According to his hierarchy of human needs, a sense of belonging ranks just slightly less than physiological needs like food, sleep, water, and our need for safety. But it ranks higher than our need for self-esteem and self-actualization, where we realize our full potential.
If we trust Maslow’s theory (and science does), then we can conclude that without a sense of belonging at work, people will not be able to fully invest themselves in their jobs because that part of our shared human experience ranks lower than being a part of the group does. Why try if no one cares?
Our basic health depends on belonging to a group, too. Lissa Rankin, author of Mind Over Medicine: Scientific Proof That You Can Heal Yourself, shares that belonging has the power to heal. She cites research proving a few incredible health facts about belonging:
· If you belong to no groups but then decide to join one, you cut your risk of dying over the next year in half.
· Senior citizens who were often engaged in social activity outlived their reclusive peers by an average of two point five years.
· Those who went through cancer alone were four times more likely to die from their disease than those with ten or more friends supporting them.
· Men with heart disease are much less likely to have heart attacks if they are involved in a supportive community.
When you are connected to others, you realize that everyone struggles through difficult times and it makes you feel as though you are not alone. There is comfort in that knowledge.
Employee experience is closely related to the sense of belonging at work, but also to the experience provided to customers. Customers feel and perceive whether people are committed to the organization they represent. Ed Catmull, the president of Walt Disney Animation Studios and co-founder of Pixar, attributes the studio’s success to its “vibrant community where talented people are loyal to one another and their collective work, everyone feels that they are part of something extraordinary, and their passion and accomplishments make the community a magnet for talented people coming out of schools or working at other places; but are also preferred by customers. Most sustainable improvements in a company occur when people discover their own power to act; when they stop waiting for bosses or superiors to do something and decide they can act.
Recommendation is to start small to encourage everyone to take charge of their puzzle piece today. Then everyone will recognize that they are building something bigger than themselves at work and for the customers and will do everything they can to make it count. Even in a company with more traditional management styles, people can be loyal, connect with each other, and show passion for their work.
Develop talents, develop people’s strengths and have them take ownership of their part of the puzzle.
