Belongingness on the go: Examining road warrior consultants’ experiences of belongingness with their firms

Abstract

We examine how “road warrior consultants,” who spend a majority of workweek at the client location, describe their experiences of belongingness with their companies. Based on observations and semi‐structured interviews with consultants, we identified three facets of consultants' experiences that were significant for organizational belongingness, namely: (1) connection with colleagues which refers to their interactions with others at their firm; (2) differentiation at the client firm which signifies experiences of differences and being an outsider at the client firm; (3) centrality of oneself at the consulting firm or experiences of handling significant roles in their firm. Our findings contribute to the literatures on consulting and belongingness, and also have broader implications for understanding belongingness dynamics in client‐service professions.

“It matters if I am here“: Norwegian Urban Lower Secondary School Teachers and Leaders’ Experiences of Belonging

“…This finding resonates with broader educational literature that emphasizes the relational aspects of teaching and student-teacher relationships (e.g., Corbin et al, 2019;Split et al, 2011) but extends it by suggesting that connections teachers forge with students are essential for their experiences of belonging at work. This contrasts with previous Nordic studies where student-teacher relationships are not a feature in models of teacher belonging (e.g., Pesonen et al, 2021) In line with existing research, this study reaffirms that teachers' sense of belonging is strengthened by supportive collegial relationships and experiences of acceptance and respect for their individual contributions (e.g., Bhatt & Vakkayil, 2023;Bjorklund et al, 2023;Pesonen et al, 2021;Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2011;2019). The concept of value consonance emerges as especially salient for urban lower secondary school teachers' experiences: the degree to which their personal values resonate with school values, goals, and norms.…”

“…Belonging at work has been studied across contexts (e.g., McClure & Brown, 2008;Waller, 2020) and in a range of different professions, such as teleworkers (Belle et al, 2015), consultants (Bhatt & Vakkayil, 2023), and police (Filstad, 2022). Experiences of belonging at work are related to engagement, productivity, and performance (Belle et al, 2015).…”

“…Belonging, the subjective feeling of deep connection with social groups, physical places, and individual and collective experiences (Allen et al, 2021a), has been established as a fundamental human need and motivation (Baumeister & Leary, 1995;Hagerty et al, 1992). While organizational and workplace belonging (e.g., Belle et al, 2015;Bhatt & Vakkayil, 2023;Filstad et al, 2019) has been studied across professions, the empirical body of literature on how teachers experience belonging is scarce (e.g., Bjorklund Jr., 2023;Pesonen et al, 2021). A neglected focus on teachers' experiences of belonging to their schools is paradoxical, considering their essential role in fostering student belonging (Allen et al, 2018) and the global challenges regarding the recruitment and retention of teachers (e.g., Clandinin et al, 2015;Ingersoll et al, 2019;Kelchtermans, 2017).…”