Founder Podcast Feature: Chase Sterling on Belonging, Boundaries, and Human Connection at Work
What does it take to create workplaces where people feel like they belong, not just like they know how to fit in?
Wellbeing Think Tank Founder and Executive Director Chase Sterling joins host TJ Moore for a conversation about workplace wellbeing, psychological safety, work life separation, generational assumptions, authentic connection, and why improving work can improve the world.
A Conversation About Belonging and the Human Experience of Work
Work often influences how people experience connection, identity, and belonging. When people spend their days in environments where they don’t feel safe, valued, or seen, that experience doesn’t stay contained within the workday. It can affect their bodies, relationships, communities, and lives outside of work.
In this conversation, Chase shares why workplace wellbeing must include both individual and organizational responsibility. People need tools, support, and resources for their own wellbeing, and organizations also need to look at the systems, policies, leadership practices, and cultural norms that shape the daily experience of work.
The conversation also explores one of the most important distinctions in workplace culture: belonging is not the same as fitting in. Fitting in often means adapting, masking, or changing parts of ourselves to meet the expectations of a workplace. Belonging means people can contribute, speak honestly, and feel respected without having to constantly prove that they deserve to be there.
What This Episode Explores
This episode begins with the story behind Wellbeing Think Tank and why accessibility has been central to its mission from the beginning. Chase discusses the importance of creating learning spaces where people across roles, backgrounds, and career stages can access evidence based education and feel invited into the conversation.
The discussion then turns to the role of belonging in workplace wellbeing. Chase explains how a lack of belonging can create mental strain and stress, and how workplaces can begin to change by listening to employees, asking better questions, and creating conditions where people feel psychologically safe enough to speak up.
The episode also explores the role of managers in creating healthier team cultures. Managers have a meaningful impact on whether people feel supported or depleted by work, but many are promoted without enough training, support, or time to lead well. Chase shares why manager behavior matters, including the importance of modeling healthy boundaries and showing genuine care for the people on their teams.
Another important theme is ageism and generational stereotypes at work. Rather than reducing people to broad labels, the conversation invites listeners to think about life stages, lived experience, economic realities, and the assumptions we make about people based on age. Chase also discusses how younger workers are often misunderstood when they set boundaries, especially around work life separation.
The conversation closes with a reflection on authentic connection. In a time when many people are digitally connected but socially disconnected, workplaces have an opportunity to support meaningful human relationships, not through forced social activities, but through intentional, inclusive, and respectful opportunities for connection.
Listen to the Full Episode
Check out the full episode on the TJ Moore Podcast: Apple Podcasts
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