Why We Need to Talk About Politics at Work
Interview with “Cameron”, a Nonprofit Communications Manager, for Sharehold’s Redesigning Belonging Research
Curated by Sarah Judd Welch
This post is part of an ongoing series in which Sharehold is publicly sharing our in-progress research that seeks to explore and answer the question: What does it mean to belong at work in a time of uncertainty? Are you interested in receiving our research insights when they’re released? Sign up here.
Meet “Cameron”, an Anonymous Communications Manager at a Nonprofit
Given the sensitive nature of our Redesigning Belonging research, some participants have asked for anonymity. We’ll call this participant, “Cameron”. Cameron is a communications manager at a regional nonprofit in the environmental conservation space.
As part of Sharehold’s research on redesigning belonging at work for uncertainty, we interviewed Cameron about their experience of belonging at work during this period of time defined by COVID-19 and civil unrest. Cameron’s interview touches on a few themes:
- Being seen for your unique contributions as a defining characteristic of belonging at work
- How belonging may be in conflict with other business goals
- Management behaviors that contribute towards a sense of belonging
- Why talking about current events and taking a stance on Black Lives Matter at work is critical to employees’ belonging experience
Here are a few highlights from our interview with Cameron:
How do you define belonging at work?
“I define belonging at work as a professional kind of belonging. I belong at work when my contributions are valued for their uniqueness and when my contributions are linked to how I uniquely make my workplace better.”
Why is belonging at work important?
“For a company or organization, cultivating belonging is valuable because it creates an environment where employees create a higher quality work product. For the employee, a sense of belonging is valuable because it means that they feel they’re contributing in a way that feels deeply and personally fulfilling.”
Reflecting on your past week at work, can you share an example of when you felt like you belonged?
“I felt like I belonged during a Zoom meeting with my supervisor. We went through my to-do list and agreed on next steps for each item. I led the meeting and went item by item through a list, and at the beginning and end of the meeting we connected a bit in a more personal way.
I felt that my organization and my analytical brain were adding value to the organization at that moment. I felt that my work projects were going well and moving forward at a satisfactory clip. When I think about this moment now, I feel a sense of disappointment because many things haven’t moved forward yet due to my supervisor being overextended and not having time to quickly follow through on tasks.”
What (if anything) holds you back or prevents you from belonging more deeply at work?
“There are some things that make me deeply feel like I belong at work (my unique voice is being asked about and heard) that are seen as inefficient.
I work at a nonprofit with seven other staff members. We feel responsible to the donors who fund us, and always try to use our time in the most efficient way. Every hour of the workday is very precious.
Sometimes, when things are seen as not completely necessary to get the immediate job done, they’re not prioritized. However, those might also be things that create a sense of belonging. Examples might be holding longer brainstorming sessions for a project so that everyone’s voice is heard, or having meetings with people who aren’t directly involved in a project but might offer a unique perspective on something.”
“Revenue and outcomes is one of the primary driving factors. That’s just how the system we work within is set up.”
How has this time of uncertainty affected your experience of belonging at work?
“On one hand, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted my sense of belonging in a positive way because our Executive Director and our board has kept everyone on staff full-time even though they predicted that our fundraising would be down.
Also, my work as a communications officer has been recognized as particularly important during the COVID-19 crisis. There have been new projects to take on. I feel happy to be working where I am right now because I can help with crisis communication and other projects where we have to think and problem solve creatively.”
“George Floyd’s murder was the straw that broke the camel’s back, and now everyone’s talking about the Black Lives Matter movement. I’m so glad that we as an organization are talking more about racial and social justice right now because of that national conversation. It’s my deep-seated belief that [organizations like mine] need to be working in close partnership with Native American tribes.
The fact that the country is talking so much about social and racial injustice has opened the door for me to have more conversations about this with my Executive Director. That has positively impacted my sense of belonging. That’s many steps removed from the police murder of Black people, and it’s just one of the ways that the national conversation has manifested in our local organization.”
Further Reading
Throughout our research, we’ll continue to share peeks into interviews and resources.
More on Sharehold’s Redesigning Belonging Research:
