Most organisations can point to the work they've done around DE&I. There are awareness days in the calendar, training sessions, employee resource groups (ERGs), inclusion statements on careers pages and sometimes some form of strategy sitting behind it all.

Yet we’re seeing that Managers are still finding inclusion and belonging conversations increasingly difficult to navigate.  So why do some employees still feel disconnected from the company despite all of the activity taking place?

The answer may be that inclusion and belonging aren't quite the same thing.

Many organisations are struggling here because they’re focusing on activity without always understanding how that activity translates into the everyday experience of their people. The feeling of belonging isn't something you can launch, announce or add to a policy. People experience this through the decisions leaders make, the conversations managers have and the culture that's created day after day.

The difference between inclusion and belonging

DE&I conversations often focus on representation, policies and initiatives which are all important things, but belonging is different. Belonging is the feeling that:

• You can contribute without masking who you are.
• Your perspective is genuinely valued.
• You’re treated fairly.
• You feel respected, even when people disagree with you.
• You know what's expected of you and believe you have a fair opportunity to succeed.

In creative businesses, belonging can show up in different ways - does your quiet designer feel comfortable challenging an idea in a brainstorming session, or do they tend to go along with things just because?; does a producer returning from maternity leave still see a future for themselves in leadership?; does a neurodivergent developer feel able to ask for support without worrying they may be labelled as being ‘difficult’?; do your team feel safe to speak up when they’re struggling with burnout? 

The belonging gap

One of the biggest challenges leaders are navigating right now and something that we discussed as part of our most recent HR Clinic on “Modern Inclusion Challenges: What Leaders & HR Need to Navigate in 2026”, is balancing increasingly diverse individual needs with fairness across the wider team.

Whether it's neurodiversity, menopause support, flexibility requests, religious beliefs, gender identity, caring responsibilities or workplace adjustments, organisations are being asked to accommodate a broader range of experiences than ever before.

The challenge isn't whether support should exist but how to provide that support while maintaining fairness, accountability and consistency for everyone else. 

One of the biggest misconceptions about belonging is that it means making everyone happy - it doesn't. Sometimes belonging looks like having difficult conversations, sometimes it means saying no to a request because it would create an unsustainable impact on the wider team, and sometimes it means helping colleagues navigate disagreement respectfully rather than trying to eliminate disagreement altogether.

Belonging isn't the absence of challenge but creating an environment where people feel respected while navigating it.

Stop measuring activity and start measuring experience

A common trap we see organisations fall into is measuring inclusion by what they've done rather than what has changed. For example, “we ran four awareness campaigns last year”, “we launched a brand new neuroinclusion policy”, “we celebrated Pride month”, “we completed our annual employee engagement survey” Great, but what happened next? How did these initiatives make an impact? How were they measured? How were they meaningful to the company and importantly to its employees?

The question you should be asking isn't whether employees are engaged with DE&I, but whether employees can see how DE&I is making a meaningful difference to their working lives.

When organisations talk about inclusion fatigue, it's worth considering whether people are actually tired of inclusion itself, or whether they're tired of inclusion that feels disconnected from their day to day experience. Most employees aren't questioning the importance of fairness, accessibility or creating workplaces where people can thrive. What they're often questioning is whether another awareness campaign, policy launch or themed event is addressing the challenges they face at work.

People are far more likely to experience a sense of belonging when inclusion feels practical and relevant. That might mean having a manager who is confident discussing reasonable adjustments, clearer progression opportunities, more flexibility where it's needed, or simply feeling able to speak up without worrying about how they'll be perceived.

Activities need to have a purpose and a desired outcome and more importantly, employees need to understand how those activities connect to their experience at work. Belonging isn't created because an organisation is seen to be doing something - it's created when people genuinely feel supported, valued and able to contribute.

We've worked with organisations that can tell us exactly how many awareness events they ran last year but can't answer:

• Who's leaving the business and why?
• Which managers are struggling with difficult conversations?
• Do people feel safe challenging decisions?
• Do employees actually understand what support is available to them?
• Are promotion opportunities genuinely accessible?
• Are people from different backgrounds progressing?
• Do employees feel respected, even when views differ?

Belonging isn't measured by the number of initiatives you run but whether people want to stay, contribute and grow.

The real inclusion challenge? Managers.

This might be controversial, but many organisations don't actually have an inclusion problem, they have a manager capability problem. Most inclusion challenges show up through everyday management conversations around giving feedback, managing performance, discussing reasonable adjustments, navigating conflict, supporting wellbeing and balancing flexibility with business needs.

Managers need to have the skills and confidence to say “I want to understand your perspective and support you” whilst also being very clear about what’s expected. So really they’re the foundation of belonging because people are far more likely to trust managers and leaders who are emotionally intelligent, compassionate and clear.

Creating workplaces where people belong

So, think outside of bringing in new initiatives and instead focus on the following: 

• What barriers are currently being experienced in the company and how can these be realistically removed.
• Fully train and equip managers to navigate complexity amongst their team. Not just with a generic 20 minute online training session because you have a tight budget, but investing in your management team to support them with their day to day.
• Create space for everyone to feel as though they’re able to speak up and contribute as well as creating space for respectful disagreement.
• Balance empathy with accountability.
• Focus on fairness rather than sameness.
• Make decisions transparently.
• Treat inclusion as part of everyday leadership, not a standalone programme.

Remember that belonging is built through people’s experience of meetings, feedback conversations, promotion decisions, how managers respond when support is needed, whether people feel heard, respected and able to contribute. People don't remember policies, they remember how they were treated and that's what belonging is really built on.

If you'd like support developing manager confidence around inclusion, wellbeing and belonging, Fresh Seed offers a range of training for managers and leaders in this space.  Reach out to us at info@freshseed.co.uk for a chat or to find out more.