The Power of Belonging

What It Is and Why It Matters in Today's Workplace

Belonging is more than a feeling. It is a measurable workplace condition with real consequences for engagement, loyalty, retention, career progression, and performance. This report gives leaders a practical way to understand who feels seen, connected, supported, and proud at work, and what gets in the way.

23%

higher engagement between the second-highest and highest belonging quartiles

97%

of employees in the highest belonging quartile say they feel they belong at their organization

8.54

median belonging score for C-suite and executive employees, one of the highest of any group studied

RESEARCH REPORT

2020

WHAT WE FOUND

Belonging can be measured

CTI developed a 24-item workplace belonging scale organized around four elements: seen, connected, supported, and proud.

Together they make belonging concrete enough to measure and manage.

Belonging is closely tied to business outcomes

As belonging rises, so do engagement, loyalty, employer advocacy, and intent to stay. Employees with higher belonging are also much less likely to say they feel stalled in their careers.

The relationship is striking even within a narrow range of belonging scores. Small improvements can correspond to meaningful differences in how employees experience their work and their future in the organization.

Belonging is not distributed evenly

Race, gender, workplace status, social style, immigration status, political difference, and other aspects of identity all shape how easily employees can access belonging.

White men and White women reported among the highest belonging scores; Asian women and Black women reported some of the lowest. Executives reported much higher belonging than contractors.

The people with the most power to shape workplace culture are often the people most likely to experience that culture as welcoming.

“Othering” is the other side of belonging

The report examines othering: the dynamics that define some people as insiders and others as outsiders.

Those signals can be dramatic or subtle. They show up in who is treated as a role model, whose voice carries weight, whose behavior is considered normal, who has to assimilate, and who is reminded that they are different.

Belonging cannot be built without understanding where othering is occurring.

THE FRAMEWORK

Four elements of belonging

CTI measures belonging through four elements. They hold across all three markets; what changes is the behavior that builds them.

Seen

My contributions, skills, perspective, and identity are recognized and valued.

Connected

I have authentic relationships and feel part of the workplace community.

Supported

I have access to people, resources, and relationships that help me succeed.

Proud

I feel aligned with the organization's values, purpose, and identity.

People do their best work when they feel seen, connected, supported, and proud.

METHOD

Two national surveys, focus groups and virtual Insights In-Depth sessions with more than 500 participants, and more than 40 one-on-one interviews.

The primary national survey included 3,711 full-time white-collar professionals and was fielded in February 2020. A second pulse survey of 627 professionals was conducted in May 2020. NORC at the University of Chicago conducted the survey data collection, and CTI conducted the analysis.

HOW TO CITE

Center for Talent Innovation. The Power of Belonging: What It Is and Why It Matters in Today's Workplace. 2020.