According to an article by Forbes titled “Belonging at Work Is Essential — Here Are 5 Ways to Foster It,” research shows that workplace belonging is vital for employee well-being and organizational functioning. In a nationwide survey, leadership development startup Betterup found the following:
- Employees with a sense of belonging take 75% fewer sick days than those who feel excluded.
- Excluded employees have a 50% higher rate of turnover than employees who feel they belong.
- Employees see a 56% increase in their job performance when they feel like they belong.
This sense of inclusion can save employers a total of $64.5 million per year for every 10,000 employees.
However, employees diagnosed with cancer or a chronic illness may feel even more isolated than other staff members, as they struggle to relate to their peers and/or may need to take a substantial amount of time off from work.
If you are a manager or coworker, here are some tips to help establish a sense of belonging in the workplace.
- Be an ally: Support your employees or coworkers and include them on projects, in meetings, etc., when appropriate.
- Engineer empathy-building experiences: Create experiences that elicit empathy. For example, if there are a number of staffers at your organization who work from home, other employees may not realize how isolating that can be. Try establishing a “remote week,” in which the entire company telecommutes, in order to generate empathy about what it’s like to be the other person.
- Encourage healthy interactions: Foster an environment of mutual respect and positive regard for one another.
- Process exclusion verbally: If exclusion does happen, talk out loud about the experience.
To read the entire Forbes article, click here.
For more tips on supporting a coworker with cancer, read through our comprehensive articles or watch our How-To video.
Employers and managers can find additional resources by clicking here.