3 Small Ways to Be a More Inclusive Colleague

Over the last three years the author has been investigating the impact of peer relationships on an individual’s experience of inclusion at work. She found that peers have the power to include or exclude other individuals, and the exercise of that power can make a meaningful difference to work performance. Peer inclusion is demonstrated through three small acts that can make a world of difference: 1) Instrumental assistance, or acts that help a peer to perform their work tasks (such as by providing information, making introductions to contacts, giving endorsements in meetings, or offering advice); 2) Emotional bonding, or socializing with their peers, joking and banter, as well as providing space for venting and showing an authentic interest in a peer’s personal life; and 3) embodied connection, creating and communicating a closer connection with through body language and the sharing of space, such as walking to a meeting together or pulling a chair closer during a conversation.