Are end-of-year parties your best bet for fostering belonging?
Employers hoping a Christmas party will bring their people together after a gruelling year may be looking in the wrong place, according to an RMIT University academic.
Dr Saima Ahmad, senior lecturer in business administration at RMIT's School of Management, told HRD that belonging is built through everyday interactions, not one-off events, and that it may be just as important as managing workload in preventing burnout.
"One of the most common misconceptions is that building a sense of belonging requires extra events or additional workplace initiatives," Ahmad said. "In reality, belonging is most often built through everyday interactions. It's when people have opportunities to be seen, heard, valued and supported on a day-to-day basis."
Her remarks come as Australians report feeling increasingly disconnected. Ahmad has cited Mental Health Australia research showing that about two-thirds of Australians believe people are becoming more disconnected, with only 21% feeling very connected to their friends, family, neighbours or community.
"These broader trends remind us that burnout does not occur in isolation; it exists within a wider context of declining wellbeing and growing psychological strain," she said in a previous commentary.
Building belonging without adding to the load
With time scarce in the final weeks of the year, Ahmad said the most effective ways to build belonging are those already built into work. Leaders can check in with employees regularly, recognise their contributions, involve them in decisions that affect their work, and create space for people to raise concerns without fear of judgement.
"Simple acts such as encouraging quieter employees to contribute to conversations, thanking people for a job well done, and recognising effort as well as outcomes can go a long way," she told HRD.
She urged managers to pay particular attention to "hidden" employees, including remote, new and casual workers, as well as "anyone who is not a natural joiner."
"At the end of the day, the aim is not about how much time organisations spend gathering together, but about the quality of the connections they forge," Ahmad said. "Sometimes just five minutes of true connection with an employee is sometimes more valuable than an extended wellbeing programme not in tune with their work experience."
Parties can't fix the other 364 days
While end-of-year celebrations can build relationships, Ahmad warned that mandatory social events may not help employees who are already exhausted or under pressure.
Participation should be voluntary, she said, and events should be inclusive of different preferences, backgrounds and circumstances.
"Celebrations are an opportunity to reinforce the feeling of belonging if you have it already – they are not the thing that creates belonging from nothing," she said.
"A Christmas party won't make up for feeling undervalued, excluded, or unsupported in the workplace for the other 364 days of the year."
Spotting the signs
Frontline managers, who are closest to employees' day-to-day experience, are best placed to notice when someone is withdrawing, according to Ahmad.
Warning signs include an employee who once showed initiative fading out of team discussions, becoming more easily irritated, appearing tired, or struggling to concentrate.
"A key difference is that a busy period is generally characterised by temporary increases in demands, whereas burnout involves more persistent patterns of exhaustion, mental distance, increased mistakes, or a noticeable decline in the quality of their work," she said.
She cautioned managers against treating every change in behaviour as a performance or commitment issue, and encouraged them to approach conversations with "empathy and curiosity," then follow through by reviewing priorities, reassigning tasks, or offering more flexibility.
"Managers are not expected to diagnose burnout. Their responsibility is to recognise potential warning signs and create opportunities for conversations in a psychologically safe environment," Ahmad said.
"And managers should not only be monitoring what output people are producing, but rather how they are doing. Questions about workload, energy, and support needs can help flag issues before they happen."
Carrying belonging into the new year
To stop belonging from resetting after the holidays, Ahmad said organisations should help employees prioritise and set clear expectations before they go on leave, so they are not returning to "a mountain of work."
"The first few weeks of the new year are just as important. Leaders and managers should avoid rushing back into high-intensity work," she said, adding that leaders should instead reconnect with teams, revisit priorities and give employees a say in how work is organised.
Ahmad also called on HR leaders to rethink individual-focused responses to burnout, such as resilience training and mindfulness sessions.
"Mindfulness programmes and wellbeing initiatives can be valuable, but they cannot compensate for unsustainable workloads or a toxic work culture," she said.
Rather than relying on headline engagement scores or participation rates in wellbeing activities, she said HR should ask employees whether they feel included, whether they have someone to turn to when work becomes difficult, and whether their workloads allow them to recover.
"In my view, preventing burnout requires both managing work demands and strengthening the social and organisational resources that help people cope with those demands."
