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The sense of inclusion that a workplace can foster has a positive effect on the individuals who work there and the organization as a whole.
Still, achieving inclusion can be challenging. One path forward is by finding and encouraging greater connection among team members.
Inclusion can be seen as a cultural and environmental feeling of belonging. It’s assessed as the extent to which employees are valued, respected, accepted, and encouraged to fully participate in the organization.
When people feel supported and included at work, they’re more likely to experience increased confidence and happiness in the workplace, which can improve overall well-being.
Inclusion has a powerful impact on both an organizational and individual level. 2022 research suggests that inclusive leadership can lead to better individual performance and encourage the generation and expression of creative ideas.
A sense of inclusion or lack thereof also has an impact on individuals.
Research from 2023 shows that a feeling of exclusion or not belonging can affect a person’s sense of well-being, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment.
Thus, creating inclusion in our organizations is essential to the health and well-being of the organization and its individuals.
True inclusion can be challenging to reach. Research shows that people are more likely to support and protect those they believe to be similar to them. A 2019 study found that many people felt greater empathy for those in their own ethnic group, which can lead to greater bias toward other groups.
Showing up authentically as a minority within a group can be difficult and sometimes even dangerous.
Even if you aren’t familiar with this research, it’s probably intuitive. And the experiences of marginalization, discrimination, and microaggression that members of minority groups endure make this quite plain.
Thus, those in minority groups feel a pressure to deemphasize their culture and backgrounds to assimilate into the larger group culture, resulting, for instance, in the pressure on LGBTQIA+ folks to be closeted, on People of Color to downplay their heritage and culture, and on those with disabilities to hide their accommodations.
This may create a sense of team unity, but it’s a false one, as the evidence on inclusion attests. Those who are hiding their authentic selves pay a cost, as do the organizations that employ them.
I believe that there is one thing that may help: building connections.
Surprisingly, studies have shown that feeling connected to work colleagues or the wider team can increase one’s willingness to contribute and share information. It can also lead to team members sharing views and opinions in a way that is constructive rather than oppositional.
Therefore, I believe it can be helpful to identify small connections between you and the others in your organization to increase a sense of inclusion.
On the Venn diagram of your interests and theirs, what’s the overlap? Maybe you both love the Olympics, craft beer, or murder-mystery TV shows.
To find these little connections, it’s important to be observant.
Maybe you notice that a woman from Finance has a Red Sox flag up in her office. If you’re a baseball fan, too, why not ask her whether she’s looking forward to opening day or who her favorite player is? That guy at the security desk is doing the Friday crossword — looks like he’s almost done. Why not compliment him on his achievement? You could even add, “I never get that far on Fridays.”
This works for remote teams, as well. Did you hear a dog bark on that call? Maybe ask what kind it is. If someone’s Zoom background is a beautiful mountain image, consider asking about it. You might discover a shared love of hiking or photography.
By noticing these little things, you can start building simple, easy connections.
In terms of how to find these connections, there are a few topics that are usually an easy way to get the conversation rolling:
- pets
- weather
- traffic
- any kind of media, like movies, books, or music
- something in the environment, like a nice plant or new construction
We generally want to avoid commenting on people’s appearance, but noticing something they’re wearing, like a pin or a tie from a particular place or a team, can be good.
If a person looks like they’re struggling or overwhelmed, for instance, wrangling a load of boxes, that’s obviously not a great time to engage, except maybe to say, “Can I help you in any way?”
Plus, it’s good to keep in mind that some individuals may not be interested in connecting. If your initial queries are met with monosyllabic responses, take the hint and leave them be.
Otherwise, though, I’d encourage you to try over the next few days to start conversations with those you come across.
I especially like trying to connect with someone who seems as different from me as possible—in the course of a short conversation, can I find something that we have in common?
I like to ask a few conversation openers when there’s a lull, especially in a group. One is about people’s favorite books. I usually start by saying that I’m looking for something to read, and people are generally thrilled to talk about the books they love. Music, movies, TV shows, and podcasts would also work.
Another I like is, “What was your first job?” Or sometimes, “What was your worst job?” It usually leads to an interesting conversation, and you learn a lot about people. You hear a little about the places people have lived and about the things that they like and don’t like in a work setting.
One of my favorite conversations on this topic was when I learned that the other person and I had worked in the same mall during the same years, in stores with one floor on top of the other. I feel permanently bonded to her.
One final point on this is to think about the benefits of these small connections when creating team-building activities.
If you’re the leader of a team or are organizing a training or other group activity, it’s valuable to put together an icebreaker that helps people make connections.
I’ve had luck asking people their favorite foods from the area where they grew up or creating a trivia contest where the attendees tried to find other people from the group who fit certain criteria, like being twins, vegetarians, or playing the piano.
One that I’ve seen work online is to ask people to identify something in the room they’re in that makes them happy or an object of a specific color and then talk about what they chose. These kinds of activities encourage people to talk with one another and make it easier to find connections, which builds empathy and trust across the group.
A truly inclusive workplace is one in which each person can feel part of the group while still being recognized and appreciated for their uniqueness.
This is a long-term goal that will require deep work on a societal level to challenge systems of oppression and create structures that allow each person to thrive. It’s going to be a lengthy process. But we each have a role to play in helping those around us to feel a sense of inclusion and worth.
To help build that, try finding small connections with others in your organization. When we do, we show people that we see and value them and also build allegiances that can overcome differences.
