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Andrew Pain

andrewpain.co.uk

Crack the Cliques

Belonging

Workplace Belonging in Just 3 Steps

Andrew unpacks the science and practice of community-building at work – helping organisations tackle loneliness, break down cliques, and create cultures where every person genuinely belongs.

Andrew Pain speaking

What this session covers

  1. Why community safeguards human wellbeing, fosters peak performance and supports ongoing innovation (drawing on global research).
  2. Why community spirit is under pressure today and what that means for our organisations.
  3. Cliques? What are they? How do they form? Why are they so difficult to spot?
  4. How do you start meaningful conversations with someone you might be worried about and/or those who don't easily interact with others?
  5. Why loneliness is a vicious cycle and how to reconnect if you've become isolated.
  6. How to improve your own community building skills, from the small every-day habits, to the longer term shifts in your thinking?
  7. Lessons from the best: drawing on the wisdom of some of the best community builders to have been on my podcast, how do you build thriving communities within the workplace?

What your people leave with

  • Understand why community directly safeguards wellbeing, performance and innovation.
  • Recognise how cliques form and why they are difficult to spot.
  • Learn how to start meaningful conversations with isolated or vulnerable colleagues.
  • Break the loneliness cycle and reconnect people who have become isolated.
  • Build practical, everyday community-building habits at individual and organisational level.
  • Apply lessons from world-class community builders featured on Andrew's podcast.

Who it's for

Leadership teams, HR and people professionals, employee wellbeing leads, and any organisation concerned about loneliness, isolation, or low psychological safety at work.

Formats & logistics

Talk length
Keynotes usually run 45 minutes to an hour, sometimes 90. Around two hours it becomes a workshop; longer than that is rare.
Audience size
From an intimate group of 8–12 to a main-stage audience of 200–250. Interactive workshops usually sit around 40–70.
AV & tech
Andrew works with whatever setup you have. And if the tech fails, the show still goes on – he'll present without slides.
In-person or virtual
Delivered on-site or online, on the platform you already use – most often Teams or Zoom.

If you need support now

This talk draws on lived experience and is educational – it is not medical or therapeutic advice. If you or someone you know needs support now: