KINDNESS

 

Kindness at work is hard. It is not because we do not want to be kind to each other. We do. It is just that the world moves so fast that it is often a struggle to keep up with the things that are in front of us. One more email or urgent meeting, may get in the way.

Yet small, everyday kindness creates real joy, for both the receiver and the giver. And the effort required is often disproportionate to the impact. There is a real return on the investment.

Kindness has been shown to increase self-esteem, empathy and compassion, and improve mood. It can decrease blood pressure and cortisol, a stress hormone, which directly impacts stress levels. People who give of themselves in a balanced way also tend to be healthier and live longer. Kindness can increase your sense of connectivity with others, which can directly impact loneliness, improve low mood and enhance relationships in general. It also can be contagious. Looking for ways to show kindness can give you a focus activity, especially if you tend to be anxious or stressed in some social situations

Physiologically, kindness can positively change your brain. Being kind boosts serotonin and dopamine, which are neurotransmitters in the brain that give you feelings of satisfaction and well-being, and cause the pleasure/reward centres in your brain to light up. Endorphins, which are your body’s natural pain killer, are also released. 

Beyond the human joy that kindness creates (which, of course, should be enough of a reason to be kind), there is also a business reason for why it makes sense. Kindness makes people happy, and happy people work harder, which in turn helps businesses do well. Kindness is not a soft thing to talk about; it actually leads to hard results. Kindness generates better profits.

True kindness should be done for the joy it brings, in quiet, unassuming ways. Ways that touch hearts and inspire. It does, however, provide a reason for the argument that kindness is vitally important, when confronting any hard-nosed business naysayers.

Sometimes true kindness requires real courage and strength. It is about being prepared to have those ‘tough love’ conversations. Those great conversations that give candid feedback to help people learn, stretch and grow.

Everyone is encouraged to try and find some way to increase the number of kind acts they do every day. They do not have to be large or extravagant; simply find small ways to be kind consciously every day. More importantly, it is about giving someone an in-the-moment piece of feedback that they can learn from. Have the strength to be truly kind. It will ensure your life is full of joy. It will help you build a community of kindness around you and, when we do this, we have the power to change the world. 

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