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Do I Belong Here? Measuring Employee Organizational Belonging - Ideas for Leaders

Do I Belong Here? Measuring Employee Organizational Belonging

Idea #859

Do I Belong Here? Measuring Employee Organizational Belonging

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Photo by Sasha Freemind on Unsplash
Photo by Sasha Freemind on Unsplash

KEY CONCEPT

Perceived organizational belonging is the feeling by employees and managers that they are accepted and respected for who they are and that what they have to say enhances productivity and an employee’s intent to stay with the organization. A Temple University study identifies four OB scales Myself, Acceptance, Diversity Valued, and Connection that organizations can use to gauge OB among their people and create targeted programs to address low organizational belonging.


IDEA SUMMARY

With many companies facing increased challenges in attracting and keeping employees, employee engagement and commitment has become even more vital to organizational success than ever before. Recent research has emphasized the positive impact of “organizational belonging” (OB) on employee satisfaction and engagement. OB is defined as “experiencing an acknowledgment of one’s talents, interests, and experiences” and finding in the organization “whole acceptance of one’s self-expression of these.”

The challenge for leaders is to measure organizational belonging. A study by Temple University’s Fox School of Business, in collaboration with IT consultancy SWK Technologies, aimed to fill the gap by developing organizational belonging metrics enabling companies to accurately gauge employee OB.

After an exhaustive review of past research on organizational belonging, the research team created a survey package that included 27 survey items to measure OB attitudes and perceptions. These survey items took the form of statements, such as:

  • When I am with people from my organization, I feel included.
  • When I speak up at work, I feel my opinion is valued.
  • Employees of different backgrounds interact well in our company.
  • Management shows a commitment to meeting employee disabilities’ needs.
  • I feel comfortable with being myself at work.

For each statement, survey respondents would indicate their agreement based on a 6-point response scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 6 (strongly agree).

These 27 OB survey items were combined in the package with survey items about productivity, intent to stay, position level in the organization, and various demographic factors (age, gender, race, religion, political scale).

The final piece of the package was a single, open essay-type item: ““In a few sentences, please describe what it is that makes you feel that you are a part of, or belong to, this company (what factors contribute to your sense of belonging here).”

The survey package was sent to 150 employees in a business technology company and 45 employees in an accounting firm.

In analyzing the results, the researchers deleted 9 items that overlapped with others. Through further statistical analysis, the researchers were able to group the remaining 18 OB items into four categories, which became four new Organizational Belonging scales:

  1. Be Myself included survey statements such as “knowing my feedback is heard (good or bad) from my manager” and “I feel my voice and opinions are sought out by others in the company.”
  2. Acceptance survey statements included “I feel that I am included and involved in things that help the company be successful” and “having a voice in our wonderful caring community regardless of position.”
  3. Diversity Valued group statements such as “there is a culture of mutual respect” and “a culture that encourages open communication and collaboration.”
  4. Connection statements included, “We are all in it together, one voice!” and “I like the fact that the people I interact with look after one another.”

The researchers then explored the correlation between the four OB scales and the two outcomes: productivity and intent to stay. They found that all four OB scale items positively impacted both productivity and intent to stay, with Be Myself having the most impact on productivity and acceptance having the most impact on intent to stay.

The data did reveal some marginally significant impact of demographic variables (gender, race, religion, political scale, and age) and organizational variables (organizational tenure and position level/role) on the four OB scales. For the demographic variables, the study showed that men tended to rate higher than women on the Acceptance and Diversity Valued scales, while Christians tended to rate higher than non-Christians on the Connection scale. For organizational variables, management tended to rate higher than non-management on Be Myself and Connection.

Correlating demographic and organizational variables to outcomes, the researchers found that non-management perceived themselves as more productive and had a higher intent to stay than management.

In sum, while the four OB scales can be marginally impacted by demographic and organizational variables, the study showed that the scales were distinct metrics that can be used to measure the level of organizational belonging felt by employees and managers of an organization.


BUSINESS APPLICATION

Based on the study results, the researchers drew several important conclusions that can guide organizations in measuring and improving organizational belonging among their people.

  • While all OB scales identified are significant, the most powerful of the four seems to be Be Myself. Allowing employees to express their opinions, even contradictory ones, without fear of retribution, and letting employees be their authentic selves are keys to building a sense of organizational belonging.
  • The anonymous survey used in this study was valuable in surfacing demographic differences. However, to get responses from all employees including those who do not respond to surveys organizations should look for other discreet, data-gathering avenues, including focus groups and interviews. Feedback forums, such as department meetings and town halls, would allow even more employees to state their opinions.
  • If demographic differences appear in perceived organizational belonging, the Human Resource Department should create programs that are specifically targeted to the needs of these groups. If women feel shut out of major decisions, for example, what steps can the organization take to increase a sense of belonging among female employees and managers?

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FURTHER READING

Gary Blau’s profile at Temple Fox School of Business

https://www.fox.temple.edu/directory/gary-blau-gblau

Daniel Goldberg’s profile at Temple Fox School of Business

https://www.fox.temple.edu/directory/daniel-goldberg-dangold

Diana Kyser’s profile at SWK Technologies

https://www.swktech.com/about-us/diana-kyser/

 



REFERENCES

Organizational Belonging: Proposing a New Scale and Its Relationship to Demographic, Organization, and Outcome. Gary Blau, Daniel Goldberg, and Diana Kyser. Journal of Workplace Behavioral Health (February 2023).

https://doi.org/10.1080/15555240.2023.2178448

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Idea conceived

February 24, 2023

Idea posted

Sep 2023
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