Belonging, Performance, and Engagement: What Tomorrow's Leaders Need to Know

Introduction

In 2020 the global economy shrank by 3.5 percent, the most significant contraction in 60 years and a direct result of the devastation of the global pandemic (Gallup, 2022). Not only did people struggle worldwide with the highest levels of stress, sadness, anger, and worry, but it became undeniably evident that people at the same workplaces and in the same communities are having radically different experiences based on the intersections of their identities (Woods et al., 2021). Additionally, the stakes and impact of holding tight to a status quo that permeates exclusivity, division, polarization, and unethical behavior are now recognized as a recipe for toxic environments, decreased engagement, and low-performing organizations (Rasool et al., 2021). Post-pandemic corporate reputation is intricately tied to employee engagement and customer dedication. This shift underscores the need for leadership to focus on being accountable, trustworthy, and inclusive should they want highly engaged and high-performing organizations and institutions (Overton-de Klerk & Muir, C, 2022).

Demand is high for this shift in attention, with a 2022 Gallup survey finding that 74 percent of Americans were dissatisfied with the size and influence of major US corporations, up from 48 percent in 2001 (Gallup, 2022). Additionally, 70 percent of people worldwide believe corruption is widespread in business and impacts overall performance and life experience (Gallup, 2022). The data reinforces why leaders are looking to reinvent and step up in a new and different way. Even pre-pandemic progressive leaders were calling for changes. In a New York Times opinion piece, Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff stated that, globally, the 26 wealthiest people account for as much wealth as the 3.8 billion poorest. In the United States, income inequality has reached its highest level in approximately 50 years. The rise of equity, fairness, and transparency is now becoming an expectation to rectify injustice in the workplace. Benioff (2019) states, “It's time for a new capitalism - a fairer, equitable and sustainable capitalism that actually works for everyone” (Benioff, 2019).

Furthermore, while this data is compelling, the trends show that the emotional connection to equity and fairness is now at the heart of engagement and performance (Kuknor & Bhattacharya, 2021; Overton-de Klerk & Muir, C, 2022). In best-run companies, 73 percent of workers are emotionally engaged and are thriving at work. Unfortunately, the global average is a mere 20 percent (Gallup, 2022).

As a society, we have moved beyond stating that we need to change how we work and interact; now, change is a matter of survival, and those who fail to adapt will lose the followership needed to succeed. Additionally, everything is more complex in the virtual world; how we communicate, how we make decisions, how we get work done, how we are accountable to others, how we create community, how we create value, and how we generate engagement - all these interactions differ in the virtual or hybrid space. These differences amplify that business, in any industry, is no longer simply transactional because for human performance to flourish, the environment must also support emotional needs. This shift demands leaders to move out of perceptually complicated strategic actions and into satisfying basic rational and emotional human needs. When organizations, institutions, and communities can fulfill emotional needs, people thrive, engage, and remain dedicated to successful outcomes (Roberson & Perry, 2022). In the workplace, rational needs are having a safe working environment, good pay, and benefits. Workplace emotional needs include autonomy, flexibility, and belonging. The gap in most workplaces is that most leaders ensure rational needs are met, but rarely do they ensure emotional needs are met (Ho & Chan, 2022).