Kindness Matters in the workplace

Mental Health Awareness Week 2020 is taking place this week and its theme is Kindness; something which has thankfully seemed to have seen a significant increase across communities in recent weeks.

Wellbeing in the workplace has gradually become more of a focus for employers in recent years as awareness has grown in making mental wellbeing just as important as physical. It has had its profile raised with the support of high profile figures such as Prince William who has not been afraid to highlight its importance and refer to his own mental health. Furthermore, it has become freely spoken about in every celebrity sector from football to film and fashion.

Translated to grass roots it’s become evident that communication is key to helping people take care of their mental health and that the wider picture of someone’s personal circumstances must always be considered.

In the workplace, it’s about making sure employees feel valued, are given appropriate training and support to carry out their roles, that a team spirit irrelevant of position is encouraged, and that in a world where you can be anything, being kind is most important.

In 2017 a project conducted by the University of California took place at Coca-Cola’s Madrid headquarters and centred around ‘giver’s and receivers’ during a four week long happiness project.

The results proved that the old adage ‘it is better to give than receive’ was correct – those that were dishing out acts of kindness such as making a drink for someone, or paying someone a compliment experienced even higher levels of positive wellbeing in the workplace than those on the receiving end of the gestures.

Perhaps one of the most uplifting results of the survey was the fact that kindness is contagious. Those that were subject of a kind act were more likely to be kind to someone else. During these unusual times when everyone is facing challenges that must be dealt with regarding the seismic changes to the way we work and live our lives, being kind has never mattered more.

Wherever you work we encourage you to pay a little kindness forward, whether that is socially distanced or virtually at the moment, or in person in the future. It will take a little effort on your part but may make a massive difference to someone else.