Employees who felt a sense of belonging at work are 5.7-times more likely to be engaged and 70 per cent more likely to stay with their employer, according to a recent report by McLean & Company.
It found employees who felt their contributions were significant were 3.5 times more likely to handle stress effectively. Teams that reported their organization increased investment in belonging were 54 per cent more likely to rate revenue growth highly, yet only 31 per cent of human resources leaders said they were increasing investment in belonging-related initiatives.
In an emailed statement to Benefits Canada, Paola Accettola, chief executive officer and principal consultant at True North HR Consulting, said the report confirmed what she sees in practice. “It’s when people feel they can speak their mind, their input matters and they don’t have to code-switch to fit in — that kind of culture didn’t just happen, it was built deliberately and it paid off.”
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“Executives often dismissed belonging as soft work, but this research proves it’s tied to retention, productivity and growth. If leaders want results, they need to connect culture to the hard numbers that matter.”
She added that small but deliberate practices can strengthen belonging, citing one organization where leaders required every team member to contribute to at least one topic during weekly meetings. Over time, quieter employees began sharing ideas unprompted and collaboration improved. Another employer adopted ‘stay interviews,’ short conversations with employees about what kept them in their roles and what could make their work lives better. The feedback flagged minor frustrations that, once addressed, sped up workflows and reduced stress.
McLean & Company’s report said belonging isn’t a passive outcome but something employers must design and sustain deliberately. As loneliness continues to rise across the workforce, strengthening belonging has become a key strategy for building resilient, high-performing teams — and the payoff is visible in both engagement and retention.