Belonging has emerged as one of the strongest drivers of the employee experience. According to the EY Global Belonging Barometer 4.0, work is where employees feel a strong sense of belonging, second only to home, and it has risen six percentage points in just two years.
Yet many workers report feeling less connected. Younger generations are experiencing a paradox; although they’re the most digitally connected, they’re also feeling the most disconnected, with 92% of Gen Z and 87% of Millennials saying they feel excluded at work.
On a macro level, societal pressures, economic uncertainty and the growing influence of technology are shaping workers’ sense of stability and connection. Younger and mid‑career employees are feeling this most acutely; Gen Z and Millennials are more than twice as likely as Baby Boomers to say they feel stuck due to the economic climate.
In the workplace, hybrid schedules, workload pressures, and technological change have reshaped how people interact day to day.
Over half of Gen Z and Millennial respondents now go an entire day without a single real‑time conversation. Some even rely on AI tools or chatbots when they need interaction. Gen Z is connecting with colleagues only half as often as older generations, missing the everyday moments that build belonging, trust and a sense of value.
Professionals both in their early and mid-stages of their careers are seeking a deeper sense of connection, stability and psychological safety at work. Nearly half of respondents cited strong, trusting relationships with colleagues as key contributors to psychological safety at work. For HR leaders, this signals an opportunity. Belonging is directly tied to retention, engagement, innovation, and performance. When employees feel they can be themselves, contribute ideas and form meaningful relationships, teams simply work better.
When HR leaders and teams prioritize everyday behaviors that build trust and connection, they drive stronger employee experience and business performance. The data shows there are clear, practical steps HR can take to strengthen belonging across the workforce.
1. Create connections across generations.
Today’s workplace can include up to five generations. What might seem like an organizational challenge can also be your strength. Half of Belonging Barometer 4.0 respondents said they feel more connected when working with colleagues from different generations. This makes sense, since learning from colleagues whose experiences differ from our own expands perspective and strengthens teams. Intentionally designing cross-generational collaboration, through project teams, mentoring or reverse mentoring helps create meaningful connections while transferring knowledge in both directions.
2. Check in to prevent people from checking out.
Almost 30% of respondents say having others check in on how they are doing both at work and in their personal lives is a top driver of belonging. These genuine moments open the door to conversations that help people feel seen and heard. Effective check‑ins don’t need to be long, just intentional. Leaders and HR practitioners who create space for these moments strengthen connections across teams.
3. Build psychological safety through consistent, everyday behavior.
Psychological safety, the ability to speak up or ask for help without fear, is a leading driver of belonging, with nearly half of respondents citing the ability to admit mistakes or ask for help without fear of consequences as crucial to feeling safe at work. When psychological safety is high, employees feel more confident asking for help, being themselves, sharing ideas, and raising concerns.
On the flipside, periods of workforce uncertainty can amplify hesitancy. For example, our EY research found that Gen Z respondents are two times less comfortable sharing dimensions of their identity at work than older generations. Many workers say they think twice before admitting mistakes or voicing a new idea. That impacts trust and team performance.
HR can help strengthen psychological safety with simple, consistent practices:
- Normalize asking questions and seeking help – regularly invite team members to share what’s on their minds.
- Encourage leaders to acknowledge uncertainty and share what they’re learning.
- Thank employees when they share differing views.
- Invite perspectives from across roles, levels, and generations.
- Celebrate healthy debates and constructive challenges.
When organizations can foster a high-trust culture experience, Harvard Business Review found they experience 76% higher engagement and 50% higher productivity than those with low-trust cultures. These small, everyday moments of openness often have an outsized impact on how safe employees feel.
4. Recognize what AI can – and can’t – do for connectivity.
Technology can make it easier and quicker for people to access help, reducing barriers, and simplifying the process of getting the support they need. One‑third (32%) of employees say technology has strengthened their sense of connection and for younger generations AI is playing an evolving role in emotional well-being. More than one quarter of respondents said they would consult AI or a chatbot if they were feeling lonely or isolated.
While technology can never replace human interaction, it can complement efforts to create a more connected employee experience. HR leaders can integrate technology in ways that strengthen belonging by using AI‑enabled tools for career planning and personalized learning, leveraging digital platforms to gather feedback and pulse insights.
In a world that is constantly changing, employees crave more than just digital connections – they want to feel truly valued and included. Belonging isn’t built through technology or policy alone; rather, it’s sparked by everyday acts of inclusion. By fostering psychological safety, encouraging collaboration across generations, prioritizing check-ins, and leveraging technology to bring people closer together, organizations can cultivate a culture where everyone feels they belong and can thrive.
The views reflected in this article are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the global EY organization or its member firms.
Andrea Ramsey is Director, EY Global Inclusiveness. She is responsible for innovations that improve the strength, effectiveness and sense of belonging of EY’s diverse professionals of over 400,000 people across 150 countries.