The protective power of hope and belonging in the workplace

Abstract

Purpose In today’s turbulent and demanding work environment, the negative effects of workplace stress and strain on employee health and organizational productivity have been well-documented. Positive organizational scholarship has increasingly highlighted the importance of fostering psychological resources that can help buffer against such strains and facilitate employee thriving, resilience and performance. Hope and belonging are two key workplace resources that the mental health and retention effects of which have not been fully explored. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the potential value of both hope and belonging as critical workplace psychological resources that may help employees optimize mental well-being and employers improve retention and productivity. Design/methodology/approach The authors collected responses to an online questionnaire distributed in January 2024 to employees drawn from meQuilibrium customers. The final sample consisted of 5,989 employed adults ages 18 and over. Findings Among participants, intrinsic hope was more commonly reported than hope derived from extrinsic sources. These data show that high levels of internal or intrinsic hope correlate with reduced anxiety and depression risks. Internal hope also significantly lowers quiet quitting and turnover intent. Among participants, a strong sense of belonging correlates with lower risks of anxiety and depression. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper is the first to investigate the value of hope for employee well-being, retention and performance and adds to the literature on belonging at work.