National Inclusion Week is an annual week of workplace activities and events that may highlight the importance of inclusion across the UK. It is an opportunity for companies to get connected and engage with people and employees who are passionate about inclusion in the workplace and elsewhere. Inclusive Employers run events each year throughout national inclusion week to provide a variety of organisations with tailored initiatives to help build an inclusive culture. For 2023, National Inclusion Week is taking place from the 25th September to the 1st October , and the theme is Take Action Make Impact, a call to action for everybody within an organisation, not just leadership / HR.
Workplace inclusion is ensuring that no employees feel left out because of factors such as their age, gender, religion or belief, race, or other factors that make up their social background. Building an inclusive environment is about much more than a box ticking exercise, and there are different strategies that can be used to achieve inclusion. Inclusion in the workplace allows people to feel themselves at work, so in order for them to feel this way, you need to consider how your staff will work together on a daily basis to ensure they feel included.
Inclusion goes hand in hand with diversity and having both implemented in your working culture can lead to higher performance. However, there are plenty of other benefits that inclusion provides employees which can also benefit an organisation.
Feeling valued in the workplace is something every employee wants, especially when they spend the majority of the day within the office or working environment. Appreciation is an incredible motivator for employees so giving them that extra recognition for their hard work can really help them achieve a high job satisfaction. If employees are recognised and appreciated for the work they complete, they will consider themselves as valuable. Feeling valuable in an organisation will encourage more employees to stay rather than leave, resulting in a lower turnover.
Having an inclusive culture in organisations helps to improve problem solving, creativity, innovation and employee morale. If inclusion is only benefitting companies, then why isn’t everyone trying to make their culture inclusive? Read more one how you can implement diversity and inclusion into your company here.
National Inclusion Week provides everyone with a great opportunity to think about and identify what they can do to value one another and make the workplace more inclusive. The Inclusive Employers hold different events around the UK on each day of the week to support inclusion week. They also set daily challenges that you can take part in within your working environment.
To find out more on how to take part in the events and challenges that may be near you, visit the Inclusive Employers site here.