What Can We Do In Our Workplaces To Create True Belonging?
Article written for Workplace Journal – a quarterly journal discussing all things workplace culture and leadership by British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.
The great divide
If we stand back and take a long, hard look at the UK in September 2021, it isn’t feeling particularly united. There is increasing visibility of the lockdown winners and losers. The so called ‘culture wars’ have forced people into binary camps where big assumptions made about who they are and what they care about. Brexit or not. Woke or asleep. Vaccinated or anti-vaxxers. The light has been shone brightly on systemic racism, and the continued presence of misogyny in and out of workplaces. On top of this, we’re still reeling from the effects of our exit from the EU and the accompanying political shift to the right in what it means to be British. For those of us with brown or black skin, we are still working out what this means for our own sense of English identity.
It’s a challenging time for those tasked with creating belonging in the workplace, although increasingly, many more of us are. It’s now seen to be a success metric of efforts to diversify and include everyone. It’s never been easy to create, as McKinsey 2020 pre-covid Global Study points out to us, when it revealed that 84% of people were navigating micro-aggressions of some form in the workplace. But now, in the age of the big “resignation”, people are starting to vote with their feet, with 41% of UK workforce expecting to quit their job when the market improves, with half of those citing poor workplace culture as a key drive. There is real urgency to investing in being a place that people want to be part of.
The impact of workplace inaction
When it comes to race, that sense of belonging can feel more complicated because people are navigating exclusion in multiple spheres at the same time. How one is portrayed in newspaper headlines or dehumanised through social media comments, navigating institutional racism in healthcare, schools, policing or access to community services, experiencing differential treatment in everything from shopping in department stores to parent’s evening conversations with teachers. On top of this, it’s within workplace dynamics – our relationships and communication, codes of what good looks like, unwritten rules on how to get ahead, banter and jokes, the absence of more people who look like me.
‘They (my employer) have no idea of the challenges I have with racism when working with our partners and suppliers outside of our organisation. It’s hard to know how to bring this to work, because when you try and describe it, it doesn’t sound like a lot, but when you add it all up, it has a big impact on how you see yourself and your confidence to do your job’
Whether our workplaces reinforce this or try to create a counter narrative is increasingly a matter of choice. With greater awareness and understanding of the issues at play, it is difficult to feel like you belong to a workplace that isn’t fighting your corner in some way. Whether that is in acknowledging how racism impacts our work, taking action to redress inequity or leading the way in a change for the wider sector, meaningful action is important. I’ve lost count of the number of team members I see disengage or leave because they’ve lost faith that their organisation appears not to care enough to be part of the solution.
‘They say things take time, but how much time? It’s disheartening when I look around and see no-one who looks like me in leadership positions, especially now that we all acknowledge it’s not right for it to be so white. That we are moving a snail’s pace to create change tells me that they simply do not value me’
A way forward
I found myself swept up in the emotion of the summer Euro 2020 competition which offered a broken nation a rare chance to collectively heal. What made this event so poignant, especially to those struggling with exclusion, was the way the team showed us a vision for what it could feel like to belong. That in a world where racism continues to be a daily challenge, it is possible, and perhaps necessary, for the workplace to play a much more active role in how it supports and changes discrimination in society.
What we saw play out over the competition, was a team that used belonging as both a shield and a superpower for its players. We saw the team realise their full potential, capable of really upping their game, despite the toxicity, the criticism, and high pressure all around them. The sense of belonging created and held by the leadership empowered everyone in the team to confidently have a voice on issues that matter to them and to step forward with visible, sometimes very unpopular, acts of allyship. Those eleven men and their white manager made a powerful statement to the world about the kind of future they want to be part of. It was truly inspiring.
There’s much we can take from this master class on belonging into our workplaces to help us more effectively unlock the benefits of belonging for teams. Here are some of the key lessons.
The importance of a shared vision to mobilise energy
The powerful ‘Dear England’ letter by Gareth Southgate outlined a vision for what it meant to belong to this team, and what that meant for the role of each player representing a diverse, progressive England. So often organisations put their energy into the solutions and action around D&I, and they miss out this vital step of defining the destination. When the leadership demonstrate their emotional investment in creating a different kind of future, when they are willing to put their name to an ambition for change, it sends a powerful message to everyone about what belonging specifically means to us.
Use allyship moments to create psychological safety
Belonging needs a sense of safety to exist, yet racial inequality and racism create a minefield of psychologically un-safe spaces every day. These moments can be small micro-aggressions and other times bigger moments of discrimination. We can create safety for others by acknowledging these moments exist and demonstrating to our colleagues that they are not OK. In the most recent Hungary vs. England match, we literally saw the team create a circle of protection around Sterling shielding him from the abuse (and beer) being thrown at him. Whether we do this physically or metaphorically, it’s the essence of the kid of safety that belonging needs. It happens when colleagues speaking out against the racism we see, because communicate to our colleagues of colour that we stand with them and that we have their back.
Focus energy on people experiencing racism
“I wished other colleagues did not dismiss the burden we are carrying daily. Help them, support them, reach out and show empathy. Silence doesn't do anything for anyone just by saying you don't know the right words to say, or how to help - it shows your compassion and human connection with this person. Don't wait or assume someone else will reach out”.
Often in organisations people are at different stages in their learning with how racism works. In my experience leaders can get overly wrapped up in the needs of those with most learning to do, giving too much energy to good intention and not enough to the people impacted by this. One of the most powerful ways we can signal belonging is by being consistent in our actions of support by starting from the needs of those on the receiving end of racism first. The whole team taking the knee in every match, knowing it wouldn’t be well received by everyone, has sent a clear message about zero tolerance to the world. If anti-racism is genuinely important to us, then we need clear parameters about what is and isn’t acceptable and actions like this help to convey that.
Encourage active listening and empathy creation
Inclusive leadership starts with really listening to the needs of our employees and understanding what they need to feel properly heard. When leadership take the time to really listen to what matters to their people in marginalised groups, they are already taking the first step to creating a culture of belonging. One of the things that has strengthened the collective action of the England team has been a shared appreciation of the impact of race on the different experience of players. That kind of empathy, encouraged by leadership but happening at every level of an organisation, is the key to an authentic belonging experience. Active listening is one of the most critical skills to nurture in workplaces today. When we can do this in ways that break down hierarchy and people to bring personal and professional worlds closer together, they have most power to create the kind of connections that underpin belonging. We cannot do belonging from a distance.
Don’t be afraid of being political
“It would make me proud to work for an organisation that not only develops, champions and supports its own people of colour but also those in the wider sector, knowing that we have a role to play in addressing the wider imbalance”.
Sometimes leaders are nervous about how to approach anti-racism. They ask questions about what feels appropriate for the workplace, given that its purpose is not to be an engine for social change. Achieving the magic 14% of racial diversity so that companies are aligned with the national representation is seen to be the end goal. The challenge with this outlook is that people cannot leave their identity at the door when they come to work. In fact, organisations request that people ‘bring their whole self to work’ because we know that acceptance is the key to engagement.
Today, both customers and employees alike are questioning the social role of business through movements like the Better Business Act and B Corp, so it’s something we need to get clear on. Gareth Southgate was firm about the role he saw the England team playing. He believed that they had a duty to use their voice to contribute to change and that his role as leader was to encourage, support and facilitate this. The integrity and commitment organisations show to contributing to a better world are aspects of talent acquisition and engagement that can no longer be ignored.
Links to add in:
Mckinsey study
2021 post lockdown study
Dear England letter
