The quiet power of belonging
Questions about employee attrition have become increasingly common in leadership discussions. Organisations invest heavily in understanding why talented people leave and what it takes to persuade them to stay. During one such conversation recently, I found myself reflecting on a very different workplace culture I had experienced more than four decades earlier, when I began my career in the Railways.
A senior officer accompanied me during the daily rounds of the maintenance shed for the first two weeks. At the end of the fortnight, he simply said, "From Monday, you are on your own." The shed and its staff were now my responsibility. Yet I was never really alone. Whenever difficult issues arose-whether with the trade unions or the Headquarters-I knew the senior officers stood firmly behind me. That culture remained consistent throughout my years in the Railways. Senior officers backed difficult decisions, corrected mistakes without humiliation and encouraged me to take on unfamiliar responsibilities with confidence. These experiences made me feel that I belonged. I realised later that these small gestures influenced me more than I recognised at the time. I found myself offering the same support to younger colleagues, not because anyone asked me to, but because someone had once done the same for me.
When I entered the private sector nearly twenty-five years later, the workplace had changed considerably. Careers had become more mobile, organisations more dynamic, and restructuring more common. These changes brought many advantages-greater opportunities, faster growth and increased flexibility. I sensed that something less tangible-but equally important-was becoming harder to preserve: the sense of being connected to something larger than oneself. Many employers invest significant resources in designing performance management systems, incentives and retention strategies. These have an important place in every organisation. But they sometimes underestimate the influence of small human gestures-an encouraging conversation, thoughtful guidance, genuine appreciation or a senior taking an interest in someone’s growth. Such moments create something that policies alone cannot: a lasting emotional connection with the organisation. Belonging cannot be mandated through organisational charts or employee handbooks. It develops when people feel that they matter beyond the role they perform. Employees who experience that connection are often willing to contribute more than what is contractually expected because they begin to identify with its purpose as their own. Perhaps this becomes even more important during mergers and acquisitions. Structures, reporting lines and systems can be integrated relatively quickly. Trust, identity and belonging cannot. Unless people feel seen during periods of change, uncertainty often weakens commitment long before performance indicators begin to reflect it.
These experiences also made me reflect on a broader question. In a world where careers are increasingly fluid and professional relationships often shorter than before, organisations may need to invest as much in creating belonging as they do in improving efficiency. Technology can make work faster. Incentives can improve performance. But it is often another human being who determines whether someone merely works for an organisation-or truly feels part of it. Looking back, I realise that what has stayed with me is not a policy, a promotion or even a particular achievement. It is the confidence others placed in me, often quietly. Perhaps that is what people remember longest-not the advice they receive, but the trust they are shown and the feeling they were valued. Organisations change, careers move on, but those experiences continue to shape how people lead, work and inspire others.
The writer is a founder of Kala - Krazy About Literature And Arts, is an author, speaker, coach, arbitrator, and strategy consultant; Views presented are personal.