Nobody feels invisible in a place where they matter

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AI Is Taking the Tasks. The Return-to-Office Row Is Missing the Point.

As AI transforms the way we work, the debate about where we work risks overlooking a far more important question. Whether people are sitting in the office or working remotely matters far less than whether they feel they matter. When people feel seen, valued and significant, teams thrive. When they don't, no workplace policy can compensate.

What Does It Mean to Feel Like You Matter?

Something strange is happening at work.

We have never been more connected, yet never more at risk of feeling invisible. Our conversations happen through screens, our meetings through video calls, and now AI is quietly taking on many of the tasks that once belonged to us. Somewhere in all of that, it's easy to start wondering whether your contribution still matters.

Psychologists call this mattering—the feeling that you are seen, that you count, and that if you stopped showing up, someone would genuinely notice and care. It turns out that this simple feeling is one of the strongest foundations of wellbeing, motivation and performance at work.

Why Does Mattering Matter So Much?

The research is remarkably consistent.

Gallup has repeatedly found that one of the strongest predictors of employee engagement isn't salary, benefits or office perks—it's having a best friend at work. They also report that employees who receive meaningful feedback from their manager each week are around four times more likely to be engaged.

Why? Because feedback says something much deeper than "good job."

It says:

I noticed you.

Even constructive feedback communicates that someone was paying attention. Someone cared enough to invest in your development.

The importance of mattering extends well beyond the workplace. Psychologist Morris Rosenberg's research in the 1980s found that teenagers who believed they mattered to their parents experienced higher self-esteem and lower levels of anxiety and depression. More recent research involving over 1,700 working adults found that employees who felt valued were significantly more likely to do their very best work.

In 2022, the US Surgeon General identified mattering as one of the essential ingredients of a healthy workplace, while Zach Mercurio's recent book, The Power of Mattering, has brought renewed attention to its importance for leaders.

Why This Feels Personal

This isn't simply an interesting piece of research.

It's something I experience every day.

I have the privilege of building this business alongside two of my closest friends. Not colleagues I happen to work with, but genuine friends who celebrate the good days, notice the difficult ones and tell me the truth when I need to hear it.

I feel incredibly fortunate to do meaningful work with people who matter deeply to me.

It has become the clearest evidence I know that the research is right.

We do our very best work when we feel genuinely seen.

Is the Return-to-Office Debate Missing the Point?

Much of today's conversation about work focuses on one question:

Should people return to the office?

Recent research from organisational psychologist Adam Grant and colleagues uncovered an uncomfortable finding. When they examined why some leaders insisted on a full return to the office, the strongest predictor wasn't collaboration or productivity.

It was narcissism.

The more a leader craved status, visibility and admiration, the more likely they were to want employees back where they could physically see them. Around a third of US employers have now adopted full return-to-office policies.

However, that's only half the story.

Other research shows that people genuinely do need face-to-face interaction. Remote workers who live alone can become increasingly isolated and spend less time socialising outside work. Human connection remains essential for our wellbeing.

As Bruce Daisley highlighted in his Make Work Better newsletter, these findings aren't contradictory—they're complementary.

The debate was never really about choosing between home and the office.

Presence Isn't the Same as Belonging

This is where many organisations lose sight of what matters most.

Being physically present doesn't automatically create belonging.

You can require employees to spend five days a week in the office and still leave them feeling invisible.

Equally, you can have a team spread across different cities who feel deeply connected because they know they're valued.

Presence is not belonging.

Attendance is not connection.

People don't feel they matter because they're sitting in the same building.

They feel they matter because someone notices them.

What Should Leaders Focus On Instead?

If employees don't feel valued, no attendance policy will solve the problem.

The work of leadership is far smaller—and far more powerful—than writing a new workplace policy.

It looks like:

• Giving meaningful feedback.

• Paying genuine attention.

• Remembering what someone is carrying outside work.

• Noticing when someone becomes quieter than usual.

• Helping people feel significant rather than supervised.

These moments often take only minutes, yet they shape whether people feel they belong.

Why Mattering May Become Our Greatest Competitive Advantage

For organisations focused on performance, this isn't simply about wellbeing.

Mattering influences:

• Employee engagement.

• Performance.

• Retention.

• Commitment.

• Discretionary effort.

As AI increasingly takes responsibility for tasks, analysis and automation, the distinctly human work becomes even more valuable.

Making another person feel that they count may become one of the rarest leadership skills of all.

Technology can complete tasks.

Only people can make other people feel they matter.

The Future of Work Isn't Really About Offices

The future of work isn't fundamentally a debate about remote working or office mandates.

It's a much older—and much more human—question.

Do the people around you know that they matter?

Because when they do, organisations don't just build stronger cultures.

They build stronger people.

Key Takeaways

• Feeling that you matter is one of the strongest drivers of engagement, wellbeing and performance. People do their best work when they feel genuinely seen and valued.

• The return-to-office debate often misses the real issue. Physical presence doesn't automatically create connection, belonging or commitment.

• Great leadership happens through small moments of attention. Meaningful feedback, noticing people and showing genuine care have a far greater impact than workplace policies.

• As AI takes on more tasks, human connection becomes even more valuable. The ability to make people feel significant may become one of leadership's greatest competitive advantages.

• The organisations that thrive won't simply decide where people work. They'll create environments where people know they matter, wherever they are.

References

Gallup. The increasing importance of a best friend at work. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/397058/increasing-importance-best-friend-work.aspx

Gallup. Manager feedback and employee engagement. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/395210/engage-frontline-managers.aspx

Rosenberg, M., & McCullough, B. C. (1981). Mattering: inferred significance and mental health among adolescents. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1983-07744-001

American Psychological Association (2012). Workplace survey: feeling valued at work. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2012/03/well-being

US Surgeon General (2022). Framework for Workplace Mental Health and Well-Being (mattering at work named as a core essential).

Mercurio, Z. (2025). The Power of Mattering.

Grant, A., and colleagues (2026). Research on return-to-office mandates and narcissism, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749597826000300

Remote work, living alone and social isolation (2026). Science. https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aec7671

Daisley, B. Make Work Better. "Understanding mattering is the key to engaged culture" and "Remote vs RTO: clear proof that it's AND not EITHER/OR." https://www.makeworkbetter.info