Employee burnout is a critical business risk. It’s not just an HR concern anymore—burnout affects productivity, retention, healthcare costs, and your organization’s bottom line. While workload and deadlines are often blamed, there's another vital factor often overlooked: belonging in the workplace.
While workload and deadlines are often blamed, there’s another vital factor often overlooked: Belonging in the workplace. In fact, research shows that employees who feel a strong sense of belonging at work are 2.5 times less likely to experience burnout.
For you, it’s less about ensuring employees are building relationships and more about ensuring you’re creating a culture that fosters belonging in the workplace for those who seek it.
What is employee burnout?
The term is used a lot but, according to the World Health Organization, it refers to a specific condition resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.
It's characterized by the following dimensions:
- Feeling exhausted or lacking energy
- Feeling less effective or productive at work
- Increasing mental distance from one’s job, or feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one's job
Understanding the power of belonging in the workplace
Belonging in the workplace isn’t just an outcome—it’s a condition for high performance and a critical component of employee wellbeing. Strong, meaningful relationships significantly improve job satisfaction. But even casual connections with colleagues, somewhat ironically called "weak ties," also play a surprisingly powerful role in making life more satisfying and connected.
When belonging is nurtured, employees feel valued, motivated, and deeply connected to their work and each other. This emotional and professional connection can directly counter feelings of exhaustion, detachment, and disengagement associated with burnout.
According to an article by Harvard Business Review, burnout has six main drivers:
- Workload
- Perceived lack of control
- Reward alignment
- Community
- Fairness
- Values mismatch
Belonging is a powerful antidote to burnout because it can directly address half of these causes: community, fairness, and values mismatch. Belonging won’t solve all potential burnout causes, but it’s a powerful and underrated solution for many causes.
Why a lack of belonging fuels burnout
Without meaningful connections at work, employees become isolated and emotionally distant from their roles. This isolation contributes directly to burnout.
According to our Burnout Nation guide, employees experiencing burnout are 2.8 times more likely to actively search for new jobs and have a 180% increased risk of developing depressive disorders. Clearly, a lack of belonging in the workplace isn't just an inconvenience—it’s a profound risk to organizational health.
Practical ways HR leaders can cultivate belonging at work
Creating a sense of belonging requires intentional, structured approaches. Here are five examples of proven methods HR leaders can immediately implement:
- Employee storytelling sessions: Schedule regular sessions for team members to share personal or professional stories, experiences, and successes. Storytelling fosters empathy and builds trust.
- Cross-team innovation workshops: Bring members from different departments together for collaborative projects or brainstorming sessions, encouraging deeper, meaningful connections across your organization.
- Peer-led learning programs: Encourage employees to share their unique passions or skills through informal "Lunch and Learns." These opportunities allow authentic relationships to develop.
- Internal mentorship circles: Connect employees from diverse backgrounds, seniority levels, and lived experiences in small groups for meaningful conversations about career growth and personal journeys, building genuine relationships across the company
- Community volunteering projects: Organize regular opportunities for employees to participate in meaningful community activities together, creating shared experiences and stronger bonds.
Belonging in action—strategies for HR and benefits leaders
To effectively create a culture of workplace belonging, follow these best practices:
- Clearly connect individual roles to your organization’s mission: Employees thrive when they understand how their work contributes meaningfully to company goals.
- Design environments that naturally encourage meaningful interactions: Go beyond traditional icebreakers—choose structured, purposeful activities (like mentoring programs and collaborative projects) to deepen connections.
- Regularly celebrate connection and belonging: Recognize and reward managers and employees who proactively build meaningful relationships and foster inclusive, supportive team cultures.
The clear business case for belonging in the workplace
Prioritizing belonging isn’t just good for employee wellbeing—it's essential for business success. Organizations investing in workplace belonging see tangible results, including:
- Enhanced employee engagement and job satisfaction
- Improved employee retention and reduced turnover costs
- Lower burnout-related healthcare and absenteeism expenses
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