Kindness can shape the culture of a workplace and improve our wellbeing. In a world filled with economic uncertainty, global tensions, and workplace stress, kindness has never been more essential. To celebrate World Kindness Day on November 13th, let's take a closer look at why kindness matters at work and how it can make a meaningful difference in our lives.

Why is kindness so important?

Decades of research supports the notion that kindness is ingrained in us, with evolution favouring psychological mechanisms to help use and maximise the benefits of cooperation with others. Human neuroanatomy responsible for empathy, connection and compassion suggest that we have a system designed to promote and sustain kindness and altruism1,2. We are also physiologically reinforced to be kind - for instance, acts of kindness affect our dopamine and serotonin release, influencing the reward and pleasure centres of the brain3. Moreover, altruism and cooperation have also shown an overall genetic advantage to species4.

How kindness improves wellbeing: Exploring the evidence

Studies have found that when we connect with others through kindness, it can lead to improvements in both our mental and physical health5. For example, positive social connections have been associated with lower risk of mortality6, better cardiovascular outcomes7, and reduced inflammation8. A meta-analysis of 27 studies found a small-to-medium sized effect of performing random acts of kindness on wellbeing9. Notably, these wellbeing increases were comparable to that seen from interventions like mindfulness or gratitude practices. Another meta-analysis of 11 studies found that these positive wellbeing effects significantly increased both hedonic (happiness, life-satisfaction and positive affect) and eudaimonic wellbeing (meaning, self-esteem)10.

In the workplace, kindness has a similarly positive impact. Research demonstrated that both givers and receivers of kindness show gains in wellbeing over the short and longer term (1 week and two months respectively)11. Interestingly, the pro-sociality of the givers inspired receivers to pay this goodwill forward, with this group performing many more kind acts towards other employees. This suggests that performing prosocial acts is not only emotionally reinforcing but also contagious!

The benefits of kindness also seem to persist regardless of who is on the receiving end of these acts, with no differences being found if the receiver was a friend, a stranger, or even oneself12. Further, recent literature has found that simply recalling acts of kindness can also enhance wellbeing to a similar degree as performing such acts, offering an even simpler way to benefit from this practice13.

While the benefits of kindness are clear, the research is still evolving. Studies are often critiqued for having poor methodological quality or lower generalisability due to being conducted in small samples or niche settings. Moreover, there is very limited research exploring acts of kindness in the workplace specifically, highlighting a gap in the research.

That said, the evidence within the wider population supports a case for incorporating kindness into our daily work lives. Not only do kind acts have a strong evolutionary basis within our species, what's important is that they represent a simple, often low-cost, and universally accessible way to feel good.

Three simple ways to foster kindness at work

1. Show genuine care and empathy for your colleagues

With the shift to hybrid working, feeling socially connected with colleagues is increasingly tricky. To build strong, supportive relationships, it is important to prioritise these social interactions. This could involve reaching out to set up informal calls, showing an interest in the things that seem important to your colleague (such as their family, pets or hobbies), checking in on wellbeing and providing a safe listening space.

2. Recognise efforts and give positive feedback

It is important to let others know you appreciate what they've done or how they've done it, no matter how small. Acknowledging the little things goes a long way in showing kindness, as it indicates to the person that you pay attention to their contributions and value their outputs. Consider today sending a text or a message to a colleague showing your appreciation of them. And don't forget to take a moment to recognise and acknowledge your own wins and gains too – kindness turned inwards is also key.

3. Be proactive in offering help and support

Kindness in the workplace often manifests through simple but impactful acts of assistance. When you see a colleague struggling - whether with heavy workloads, a challenging task, or even personal issues - offering help is a direct way to show you care. Rather than waiting to be asked, offer proactively and show you have noticed. Even small gestures, like offering to take on a task like answering a message on their behalf can make a difference and show you are caring about both their work and wellbeing.

What do you do to foster kindness at work?

References

1. Marsh AA. Neural, cognitive, and evolutionary foundations of human altruism. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science. 2015 Dec 20;7(1):59–71.
2. Bernhardt BC, Singer T. The Neural Basis of Empathy. Annual Review of Neuroscience. 2012 Jul 21;35(1):1–23.
3. Inagaki TK, Bryne Haltom KE, Suzuki S, Jevtic I, Hornstein E, Bower JE, et al. The Neurobiology of Giving Versus Receiving Support. Psychosomatic Medicine. 2016 May;78(4):443–53.
4. Lehmann L, Keller L. The evolution of cooperation and altruism – a general framework and a classification of models. Journal of Evolutionary Biology. 2006 Sep;19(5):1365–76.
5. Fryburg DA. Kindness as a Stress Reduction–Health Promotion Intervention: A Review of the Psychobiology of Caring. American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine. 2021 Jan 29;16(1):155982762098826.
6. Goh J, Pfeffer J, Zenios SA. The Relationship Between Workplace Stressors and Mortality and Health Costs in the United States. Management Science. 2016 Feb;62(2):608–28.
7. Uchino BN, Cacioppo JT, Kiecolt-Glaser JK. The relationship between social support and physiological processes: A review with emphasis on underlying mechanisms and implications for health. Psychological Bulletin. 1996;119(3):488–531.
8. Kim S, Ferraro KF. Do Productive Activities Reduce Inflammation in Later Life? Multiple Roles, Frequency of Activities, and C-Reactive Protein. The Gerontologist. 2013 Aug 22;54(5):830–9.
9. Curry OS, Rowland LA, Van Lissa CJ, Zlotowitz S, McAlaney J, Whitehouse H. Happy to help? A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of performing acts of kindness on the well-being of the actor. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology [Internet]. 2018 May;76:320–9. Available from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022103117303451
10. Tonis K. The effect of being kind: a review and meta-analysis of the acts of kindness intervention [Internet] [Masters Thesis]. 2017. Available from: https://essay.utwente.nl/73911/1/T%C3%B6nis_MA_BMS.pdf
11. Chancellor J, Margolis S, Jacobs Bao K, Lyubomirsky S. Everyday prosociality in the workplace: The reinforcing benefits of giving, getting, and glimpsing. Emotion. 2018 Jun;18(4):507–17.
12. Rowland L, Curry OS. A range of kindness activities boost happiness. The Journal of Social Psychology. 2018 May 15;159(3):340–3.
13. Ko K, Margolis S, Revord J, Lyubomirsky S. Comparing the effects of performing and recalling acts of kindness. The Journal of Positive Psychology. 2019 Sep 6;16(1):1–9.