Belonging as Infrastructure

Joanne Lockwood

Tags: Psychological Safety, leadership development, employee wellbeing, workplace inclusion, DEI strategy, Organisational Culture, Belonging as Infrastructure, Measurable Belonging, Team Engagement, Neurodiversity at Work.

From Comfort to Wellbeing in Modern Workplaces

Andrea D. Carter unpacks the science of belonging as infrastructure, illuminating how comfort, connection, contribution, psychological safety, and wellbeing underpin resilient, high-performing cultures where every individual can truly thrive.

In this episode of The Inclusion Bites Podcast, Joanne Lockwood welcomes Andrea D. Carter to explore the concept of “Belonging as Infrastructure” and why it is essential for organisational culture. The conversation dives deep into the difference between DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) frameworks and belonging, challenging the assumption that simply rolling out DEI initiatives is enough. Andrea articulates how belonging differs by being an experiential infrastructure, focusing on indicators such as comfort, connection, contribution, psychological safety, and wellbeing. Together, Joanne and Andrea discuss how leaders can inadvertently cause harm by conflating DEI compliance with lived belonging, and why measuring these five validated indicators offers a tangible way to transform insights into actionable culture change.

Andrea D. Carter is a neuroscience-based workplace belonging expert, organisational scientist, and founder of the Belonging First methodology. With a record of working across the globe and conducting major research projects—most notably the largest belonging study in the mining industry—Andrea brings data-driven insights to improve employee experience and organisational health. She is recognised for her skill in translating complex scientific findings into practical, human stories that resonate with leaders and enable real change. Andrea’s evidence-based approach equips organisations to assess and act upon the lived reality of belonging in their workplaces, shining a light on the importance of structure as well as lived day-to-day experience.

Throughout the episode, Joanne and Andrea emphasise that DEI and belonging must work together but are not interchangeable; DEI provides the accountability and measurement framework while belonging delivers the lived emotional experience necessary for success, innovation, and team cohesion. They candidly tackle the dangers of “fitting in” versus truly belonging, the impact of toxic cultures, and the importance of understanding workforce outliers rather than relying on averages.

The key takeaway is that belonging cannot be left to chance or reduced to a tick-box exercise—it requires both robust infrastructure and a collective commitment to foster environments where everyone can thrive. This episode is a must-listen for HR professionals, leaders, and change agents seeking honest analysis, clear frameworks, and actionable strategies for embedding belonging at the heart of their organisational culture.

Published: 01.06.2026

Recorded: 03.02.2026 Episode Length

Duration: 00:00

Shownotes:

AI Extracts and Interpretations
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Clips and Timestamps

Viral Topic: The Difference Between Belonging and DEI
Quote: “And I think when organisations abandon DEI accountability in favour of belonging focused culture, they’re making a critical error. And you can’t create belonging without addressing the structural barriers of DEI frameworks.”
— Andrea D. Carter [00:10:14 → 00:10:29]

Viral Topic – The Impact of Belonging on Workforce Trends: “The moment that the market opens more, you’re going to see mass exodus from organisations where people didn’t belong and that will become more and more of a trend.”
— Andrea D. Carter [00:30:47 → 00:31:02]

The Truth Behind Workplace Wellbeing: “if you’re not creating environments where you’re actually factoring in well being, what you’re saying to all of your employees is this, you go figure out how to renew yourself and then come back to this environment and we’re not gonna change anything. But if you can’t do it, guess what? You’re not good enough. And so depression has increased, anxiety has increased.”
— Andrea D. Carter [00:36:59 → 00:37:26]

Workplace Burnout and Organisational Responsibility: “Those conditions are the conditions that are created by the organisation. Those aren’t the conditions that are necessarily created by the individual. So when we’re talking about that 50, 50, and you want people to be resilient and bounce back and come back to their best self, you have to create the conditions so that they can do that.”
— Andrea D. Carter [00:39:57 → 00:40:16]

Viral Topic: Work-Life Balance in the Age of Automation: “But that’s a week, that’s not a month, that’s not six months, you know, that’s Not a year, that’s not all the time.”
— Andrea D. Carter [00:42:38 → 00:42:47]

Viral Topic: Measuring True Belonging at Work
Quote: “unless you’re actually measuring for comfort, connection, contribution, psychological safety and well being, you actually can’t tell whether or not belonging is breaking down or whether belonging is in a good state.”
— Andrea D. Carter [00:44:41 → 00:44:54]

Viral Topic: Rethinking Organisational Belonging
“When you actually start to unpack the data and you look at measuring that gap between the norm and the underrepresented and we can use the word underrepresented, even based on underrepresented for belonging as well. So who are the people that don’t feel that they belong? But that allows you to create predictability within who’s going to stay and who’s going to go.”
— Andrea D. Carter [00:48:20 → 00:48:48]

Viral Topic: Why Family-Run Businesses Turning Public Can Become Toxic: “the most toxic organisations are often the organisations that started off as family run businesses that then became public.”
— Andrea D. Carter [00:51:17 → 00:51:27]

Viral Topic: Burnout in DEI and HR Teams
Quote: “Ergs are certainly burning out because they’ve been giving everything nights, weekends, emotional labour, strategic thinking and all of that work disappears a lot of time, you know, it’s, we’re not sustaining them, we’re not supporting them.”
— Andrea D. Carter [00:58:20 → 00:58:34]

Viral Topic: The Loneliness of Leadership: “Leadership can be incredibly lonely because you often don’t have people that you can speak to about what the challenges are freely and openly.”
— Andrea D. Carter [00:59:50 → 00:59:59]

Definition of Terms Used

What is Experiential Infrastructure?

Definition: Experiential infrastructure refers to the structured environment, systems, and lived experiences that enable individuals to feel and enact belonging, beyond traditional policy or compliance frameworks.
Relevance: The concept is foundational to the episode’s theme “Belonging as Infrastructure,” highlighting how organisations must create authentic, practical conditions that underpin lived, everyday experiences rather than relying solely on official structures or DEI statements.
Examples: Clear communication of meeting purpose and decision-making roles, frameworks that guide how teams interact, and transparent channels for raising concerns are all part of an organisation’s experiential infrastructure.
Related Terms: Organisational Culture, Psychological Contracts, Employee Experience, DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) Frameworks
Common Misconceptions: Many assume company policies or initiatives alone are sufficient; however, without practical, daily reinforcement and context-specific experiences, these structures have limited impact on genuine belonging.

What are Structural Accountability Frameworks?

Definition: Structural accountability frameworks are systems and processes established to ensure measurable diversity, equity, and inclusion outcomes such as representation, pay equity, recruitment, and promotion fairness.
Relevance: Discussed in the episode as essential, yet distinct from, experiential factors; they underpin the ‘hard’ side of DEI work, providing accountability for systemic change within organisations.
Examples: Regular pay equity audits, demographic tracking in hiring and promotions, transparent grievance procedures.
Related Terms: DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion), Governance, Compliance, Data Auditing
Common Misconceptions: Some believe these frameworks alone foster belonging, but the episode clarifies that structural change must be paired with experiential infrastructure for genuine progress.

What is the Fitting In Model?

Definition: The fitting in model describes environments where individuals must expend energy conforming to unspoken norms, reading cues, and adapting behaviour to be accepted, rather than the environment adapting to include diverse ways of being.
Relevance: Explored as the antithesis of true belonging and a source of exhaustion and disengagement; fitting in is presented as 100% the onus of the individual, often resulting in exclusion and lost productivity.
Examples: A new hire who must guess meeting expectations or an employee who feels unable to ask questions out of fear of looking weak exemplify the fitting in approach.
Related Terms: Assimilation, Conformity, Social Exclusion, Psychological Safety
Common Misconceptions: Many believe fitting in is a positive sign of adaptation, but the episode reveals it to be a key driver of loss of engagement, creativity, and retention.

What are Gap Scores (in Engagement Data)?

Definition: Gap scores are metrics used to analyse the difference in survey or feedback results between majority groups and those who are underrepresented or feel less belonging within a system or team.
Relevance: The episode centres this as a central diagnostic for identifying where exclusion persists, illuminating disparities that may be masked by focus on mean or average scores in organisational data.
Examples: If the average sense of belonging is high but is significantly lower for women or people of colour, the gap score exposes this hidden difference.
Related Terms: Mediation Analysis, Outlier Analysis, Underrepresented Groups, Employee Voice
Common Misconceptions: Many only focus on average satisfaction or engagement scores; however, the episode warns this can hide systemic issues affecting marginalised groups.

What is Mutual Accountability (50/50 Belonging)?

Definition: Mutual accountability, in the context of belonging, means that both the individual and the team or organisation share responsibility (50% each) for creating conditions where belonging can thrive; it is not the sole responsibility of any one party.
Relevance: The episode’s “belonging as infrastructure” approach relies on this shared model, distinguishing it sharply from cultures expecting marginalised individuals to ‘fix’ the problem or be solely resilient.
Examples: A manager clarifying expectations whilst an employee communicates their own needs; teammates supporting each other’s wellbeing and growth.
Related Terms: Reciprocity, Psychological Contracts, Team Development, Inclusion Drivers
Common Misconceptions: There is a widespread notion that belonging is either HR’s responsibility or the individual’s duty to fit in, but this framework asserts it is always a shared endeavour.

FAQ of Terms and Definitions from the Episode

What is Experiential Infrastructure? — The lived systems, routines, and practical conditions making belonging possible within an organisation, beyond written policy.
What are Structural Accountability Frameworks? — The policy-driven, measurable systems (hiring, pay, promotions) holding organisations to account for DEI objectives.
What is the Fitting In Model? — An approach in which individuals must carry all the burden to adapt to an environment, often resulting in alienation and unrealised potential.
What are Gap Scores (in Engagement Data)? — Metrics revealing the differences in experience between majority and underrepresented groups, highlighting where true inclusion or belonging is lacking.
What is Mutual Accountability (50/50 Belonging)? — The principle that both individuals and their environment hold equal responsibility for cultivating belonging; it is a collaborative process, not a solo effort.