Introduction
In our rapidly evolving world of work, with flexible, remote, and hybrid set-ups increasingly the norm, the challenge of nurturing a genuine sense of community has never been more acute—or more vital. Business leaders often prioritise performance targets and strategic growth. Still, the intangible value of community, manifesting as a deep sense of belonging and shared identity, may be your organisation’s greatest untapped asset.
This article delves into how leaders can deliberately foster thriving workplace communities, with a particular lens on the cultural power of communal activities, shared histories, and organisational storytelling. Drawing on academic research and practical experience, we will review why psychological safety is fundamental, provide hands-on strategies, and address why many well-intentioned community-building initiatives fall flat, often lapsing into tokenism.
The Compelling Business Case for Community
First, let us tackle the core question: why should senior leaders prioritise community-building?
There is robust evidence that a strong workplace community delivers substantial business benefits. According to Gallup’s 2023 research, organisations with highly engaged employees experience 23% greater profitability, 18% higher productivity, and a 66% uplift in wellbeing. Team-based studies by Professor Amy Edmondson at Harvard highlight that psychologically safe, strongly bonded groups are markedly more innovative, responsive, and resilient (Edmondson, 2019).
A cohesive company culture enhances employee retention and customer service and underpins long-term competitiveness. Community is not just a “nice-to-have” but fundamental to sustainable success.
Why Most Community Initiatives Fail
Many leaders have experienced disappointing results from efforts to bolster the workplace community. Initiatives such as forced team-building days, superficial diversity events, or once-off celebrations are often received with scepticism or even cynicism. Staff participation can appear performative, engagement wanes, and a sense of mistrust lingers.
Why? The most common reasons include:
- Lack of authenticity: If leadership is not genuinely committed, or the initiative has no visible connection to everyday work or values, employees will sense it instantly.
- Tokenism: When community initiatives are seen as box-ticking exercises—occasional gestures rather than sustained, meaningful change—they lack credibility and fall flat.
- Absence of psychological safety: If staff do not feel truly safe contributing, questioning, or challenging, no amount of social activity will bridge the gap.
- Failure to integrate: One-off or isolated activities unrelated to the broader culture simply do not stick.
- Neglecting follow-up: Effective community-building requires constant nurture and visible endorsement from senior leaders.
In short, while the desire may be sincere, the approach and commitment too often are not, resulting in more symbolic than substantive initiatives.
Psychological Safety: The Bedrock of a Thriving Community
Academic research, particularly by Professor Amy Edmondson, underscores that psychological safety—the belief that you can speak up, make mistakes, and share ideas without fear of embarrassment or retribution—is the bedrock of any healthy workplace community. Without it, people withdraw, masking their authentic selves, and the community remains a hollow ideal.
Practical steps for leaders:
- Show vulnerability: Admit to your own mistakes and uncertainties.
- Welcome honest feedback: Actively encourage constructive dissent, and reward it.
- Separate critique from identity: Give feedback focused on actions, not the individual.
- Make it safe to participate: Validate and appreciate when colleagues leave their comfort zone.
- Measure psychological safety: Use surveys or confidential feedback sessions to monitor progress.
Professor Michael West’s NHS research is instructive. It reveals that healthcare teams with high psychological safety not only collaborate more effectively but also achieve lower patient mortality (West, 2021).
Communal Meals: More than Just Food
Breaking bread together has been a bonding experience in human societies for millennia. Oxford’s Professor Robin Dunbar found that communal eating releases endorphins—the “social glue” that strengthens bonds regardless of status or department (Dunbar, 2017).
Actionable tips:
- Invest in welcoming, comfortable spaces for staff to eat together.
- Senior staff should join communal meals as equals, not as “inspectors.”
- Run ‘lunch lottery’ schemes to mix teams and break departmental silos.
- Use meals as opportunities to celebrate culture and heritage, inviting colleagues to share their own food stories.
- Mark milestones with celebratory meals linked to team achievements.
AstraZeneca’s “no eating alone” policy for execs, for instance, directly supported cross-functional working, collaboration, and ultimately, rapid innovation (Financial Times, 2022).
Shared Experiences: The Bonds That Last
Whilst routine contact builds familiarity, memorable shared experiences are proven to create stronger, more enduring connections.
Dr Nigel Nicholson at London Business School argues that shared challenges, learning opportunities, and celebrations tap deeply into our evolutionary need for collective belonging (Nicholson, 2018).
Examples include:
- Joint learning events or skill-building workshops.
- Volunteering or community engagement days.
- Activities that require teamwork and mutual support.
- Rituals and celebrations for major milestones.
- Organised play or creativity-based sessions outside the regular work role structure.
John Lewis Partnership’s cross-team “Partnership Days” have shown a 34% boost in cross-departmental collaboration and engagement (John Lewis, 2022).
Storytelling, History, and Organisational Myth
A powerful, shared narrative strengthens common purpose and belonging. Professor David Boje’s research emphasises the difference between cold, official histories and “living stories” co-created by employees (Boje, 2022).
Steps for leaders:
- Record and share authentic accounts of your company’s beginnings.
- Routinely highlight stories of colleagues who embody company values.
- Share honest failures as well as successes—the story of how the team learned and bounced back.
- Create digital or physical hubs for sharing stories.
- Make regular storytelling part of onboarding and team meetings.
Richard Branson is a well-known UK example, using the Virgin origin story as unifying “mythology” across his various ventures.
The Perils of Tokenism
When companies attempt to superficially “do community,” the outcome is often worse than doing nothing at all. Tokenistic gestures—one-off workshops, empty slogans, photo opportunities for the annual report—may momentarily tick an HR box but breed distrust and disengagement.
An initiative is tokenistic when:
- There is no sustained follow-up or integration into company culture.
- Leadership involvement is merely performative, not genuine.
- Staff are not invited to shape or improve the programme.
- Initiatives avoid difficult conversations or inconvenient truths.
Sustainable community-building requires authenticity, continuity, and a willingness to listen, learn and iterate.
Measuring Success and Embedding Progress
Though “community” might seem intangible, it can be tracked over time:
- Use belongingness and psychological safety surveys to gain staff insight.
- Monitor collaboration across departments via project data and social network analysis.
- Track retention and customer satisfaction by department and group.
- Regularly share results and invite feedback—be seen to act on what you learn.
Experience at BT Group demonstrates that sustained focus yields results: areas with the strongest sense of community reported a 42% lower turnover in staff and a 28% rise in customer satisfaction (BT Group, 2023).
Three-Stage Framework for Success
- Assessment and Foundations (2–3 months):
- Establish benchmarks for psychological safety and belonging.
- Document your organisation’s existing assets—routines, rituals, and stories.
- Define what “community” means in your context.
- Structured Implementation (6–12 months):
- Launch regular communal meals and shared experiences.
- Begin collecting and sharing organisational stories.
- Support “community champions” at all levels.
- Embedding and Evolution (ongoing):
- Integrate community principles into everyday HR, onboarding, and performance systems.
- Make ongoing measurement and feedback regular.
- Ensure shared ownership—do not let community rest solely with “the top.”
Final Thoughts and Your Next Step
Creating an authentic workplace community cannot be a side project or a fleeting HR fad. It must be a central, living part of your organisational culture—a space where everyone feels they truly belong and can thrive.
Genuine community-building requires leadership authenticity, ongoing attention, and the courage to move beyond tokenistic gestures. The prize is considerable: a thriving, engaged, and resilient workforce ready to innovate, adapt, and excel.
Call to Action
If you would like to discuss these ideas in more depth or explore how your organisation can move beyond token gestures to achieve real, lasting cultural change, I invite you to get in touch. Let us work together to build a community in your workplace that sustains performance, engagement, and wellbeing for years to come.
References
Boje, D. (2022). Organizational Storytelling: The Power of Narrative in Corporate Identity. Oxford University Press.
Branson, R. (2020). The Virgin Way: How to Listen, Learn, Laugh and Lead. Portfolio.
BT Group. (2023). Sustainability Report 2022-2023. BT Group Publications.
Dunbar, R. (2017). Breaking Bread: The Functions of Social Eating. Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology, 3(3), 198-211.
Edmondson, A. (2019). The Fearless Organization: Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth. Wiley.
Financial Times. (2022). AstraZeneca: The Inside Story of the Vaccine Breakthrough.
Gallup. (2023). State of the Global Workplace Report. Gallup Inc.
John Lewis Partnership. (2022). Annual Report and Financial Statements.
Nicholson, N. (2018). The Evolutionary Psychology of Leadership. Leadership Quarterly, 29(4), 513-526.
West, M. (2021). Compassionate Leadership: Sustaining Wisdom, Humanity and Presence in Health and Social Care. The Swirling Leaf Press.
