5 ways to build a sense of belonging
Building a strong team isn’t just about fun events or buying the occasional pizza. Real team building goes beyond superficial activities to create a sense of belonging. Making team members feel like they’re a part of a close-knit organisation not only builds morale in that person, but also supports a healthy workplace culture overall.
Here’s how you can build a sense of belonging in your team from day one.
What is belonging in the workplace?
Belonging in the workplace is about fostering a sense that people matter, are accepted, and can be themselves at work, says Lauren Barrett, Principal Psychologist at Regenerative Psychology.
“It’s closely linked to psychological safety, trust and feeling valued,” Barrett says. This means respecting the differences in how team members think, communicate and work.
Building a sense of belonging is a big part of employee engagement. When people feel like they belong, they feel safe to speak up because they know their opinions matter.
Why is belonging so important in the workplace?
Creating a sense of belonging plays an important role in workplace culture. Beyond making people feel welcome, it also helps team performance, says Leanne Lazarus, Recruitment Manager at People2People.
When people truly feel like they’re a part of a team, they tend to put more effort into their work and are more likely to stay in a role. All of this ultimately improves team stability, collaboration and overall productivity, says Lazarus.
Despite this, more than one in five (23%) Australian workers don’t feel like they belong, according to SEEK data. The main reason for this is because they don’t feel recognised for their work (46%). On the other side of the spectrum, the top reason people do feel like they belong in their team is because they get along well with their colleagues (65%).
“Effective leadership is measured not only by results, but by the environments we create for people to thrive,” says Lazarus.
Belonging becomes even more important when you’re working within teams from diverse backgrounds, neurodivergence or across hybrid or remote teams. It needs extra attention when you’re not all working in the same space but can still be achieved with the right approach.
How to foster belonging in your workplace
If you’re looking to cultivate a sense of belonging among your team members, here’s where to start.
1. Promote inclusivity
Belonging starts with acceptance and inclusivity. This means designing a working environment that embraces everyone’s differences, rather than expecting everyone to be the same. Every individual brings their own way of communicating, working and interacting, so be aware of and account for these differences.
“Leaders should actively cultivate a culture where diverse identities, communication styles and perspectives are genuinely welcomed and respected,” says Lazarus. “Celebrate cultural diversity within your teams by recognising that people thrive with different types of support, motivation and development pathways.”
2. Support psychological safety
A psychologically safe environment is one where people feel comfortable speaking up. This helps your team feel safe to be themselves, without fear of judgement. Like many cultural changes, this starts with leadership – it needs to be modelled from the top, says Barrett.
Actively check in and respond to employee feedback, she says, and make sure to be supportive when individuals do share their thoughts.
3. Think across all employment types
A gap many employers overlook is being inclusive of workers with different employment types.. This means thinking beyond permanent employees to include temporary staff, contractors and part-time team members, says Lazarus.
“Leaders play a critical role in ensuring these individuals feel included, informed and valued – not treated as outsiders,” she says. Start by setting up processes that acknowledge the contributions of every worker. Make sure culture is consistent across the entire team, no matter their contract type.
4. Build flexibility into your plan
Everyone works differently. Build in flexibility to allow for these different needs. This could be for a range of reasons, such as family or caring responsibilities, personal commitments outside of work or even personality type.
“Build flexibility into how work is done, communicated, and assessed,” says Barrett. “Offer reasonable adjustments or accommodations in a supportive, low-barrier way.”
If possible, avoid asking employees to jump through hoops or provide a lot of information for accommodations. This tends to put them off asking, she says.
5. Be clear about expectations
Employees can get confused when expectations are unclear, leading to extra stress as they guess and worry about getting it wrong. Instead, be clear and consistent about what you expect and how decisions are made, says Barrett.
“Clear understanding of expectations removes ambiguity, guesswork and allows people greater ownership of tasks,” she says.
Belonging, like overall team culture, isn’t static. It’s a shiftingmetric that will change as your team does. To foster a sense of belonging through every change, be curious about people, accept their differences, and keep adapting to create an environment that’s best for their needs.
Source: Independent research conducted by Nature of behalf of SEEK, interviewing 6,000 Australians annually. Published March 2026.