Why belonging matters at Just
This Belonging at Just Week, we’ve been exploring what it truly means to build a workplace where colleagues feel included and valued to be themselves, because we know that’s where real performance starts.
At Just, high performance is about delivering excellent outcomes for our customers, being bold in our thinking and doing the right thing even when it’s not easy.
Belonging at Just Week
This year’s Belonging at Just Week programme brought colleagues together for inspiring conversations, personal stories and opportunities to connect.
Colleagues from our employee networks joined a Moonlight Walk along the Thames and our colleague David shared a video that reminded us how powerful it is when someone recognises your culture and identity. Our Race Equality Network also shared a blog about the importance of names.
We were also grateful to be joined by some fantastic external speakers:
- Eleanor Mills, founder of NOON and an award-winning editor, writer and broadcaster spoke to us about midlife and our working lives. Her focus is on changing the story we tell as a culture about ageing and left us with the message that midlife is not a crisis but a chrysalis.
- Tracey Quiggin, our Director of Reward hosted a fireside chat with Helen Farr from the global law firm Taylor Wessing about the current Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging geopolitical climate and legal and employment rights in the workplace.
- Dr Khurram Sadiq, neurodevelopmental psychiatrist, TEDx speaker and leadership coach shared the latest thinking and research on neurodiversity and how better understanding can help us to harness the strength of neurodivergent individuals in the workplace.
Belonging is more than an initiative
For us, belonging and inclusion aren’t about one-off campaigns or box-ticking. We’re committed to creating an environment where diverse perspectives are not only welcomed but expected and encouraged. We want our teams to listen to each other, challenge with respect and feel empowered to speak up, no matter their background, identity or job title.
When people feel seen and supported, the power of belonging is clear as colleagues contribute more meaningfully and collaborate with more trust.
Belonging is everyone’s business
Building a culture of belonging is not the job of one team or one week; it’s a collective effort. Whether it’s asking someone how to say their name, inviting a different voice into the conversation or challenging a bias, every action we take contributes to the culture we’re creating.
Embedding these everyday behaviours in our ways of working make the biggest difference over time.
How belonging links to high performance
High performing teams aren’t always the ones with the highest qualifications or most experience, they’re the ones where people feel safe to share ideas, take smart risks and admit when they don’t know something. That kind of psychological safety can only exist where inclusion and a sense of belonging is real.
Belonging at Just Week is only one moment in our ongoing journey. We’re proud of the progress we’ve made, but we know there is still more to do. As we continue to grow as a company, we’ll keep putting belonging at the centre, not just this week but every week. Because when people feel like they belong, they thrive.