The importance of kindness

If someone had said this time last year that a pandemic would sweep across the globe, disrupting our lives beyond recognition, it would have seemed almost farcical. But, in the space of less than 12 months, Covid-19 has turned the world on its head in lighting speed. 

Yet, what we have seen throughout this strange and scary time are wonderful acts of kindness that have provided strength and support to people in their hour of need. From Joe Wicks rousing the nation’s spirits with his daily workouts to people gathering on their doorsteps to clap our heroic NHS workers, we have learnt that in times of difficulty, kindness has the power to make us feel connected to one another. 

This month marks World Kindness Day and it has arguably never been so important to promote and celebrate kind acts, both in our personal and professional lives. As we continue to cope with the physical, mental and financial fallout from the pandemic, taking the time to be generous and benevolent to others and ourselves can help relieve the feelings of anxiety and stress that many of us will be experiencing. 

Strong businesses are kind businesses 

Business leaders have had to endure an unprecedented year. From mobilising entire workforces to work remotely to furloughing and, in many cases, making staff redundant, it has been an extraordinary test of leadership.

But importantly, the events of this year have also given us something unique – the opportunity to stop for a moment, take stock and reframe. A chance for leaders to re-evaluate their behaviours and the way they treat and approach their employees. 

Throughout our work at JourneyHR, we have helped many businesses build fantastic work cultures and what is clear is that strong, successful leaders are those who value their employees, show kindness, respect and care for their wellbeing and provide them with a sense of purpose and self-worth.  

They celebrate the small wins, applaud their teams’ individual successes, take the time to talk and appreciate each other and provide every employee with the opportunity and skills to flourish. 

As businesses continue to navigate their way through this period of uncertainty, it is vital that leaders show compassion and kindness to their staff and recognise the different challenges and demands that each employee will be facing. 

At JourneyHR we encourage our clients to measure and track their success around the employee experience with our engagement survey.  It provides every employee with the opportunity to share their thoughts in a confidential space and enables leaders to recognise where changes are needed. 

It is also crucial that managers understand the impact of their behaviours on team morale and engagement. 

We work with many managers, helping to hone their soft skills including compassion, empathy and kindness. Being a manager is about much more than hitting targets and delegating tasks – it is about empowering teams, providing the support, self-belief and tools to thrive. It is also about listening to one another, recognising when team members may need extra support and taking the steps to help them.

In a nutshell, both leaders and managers should embody the values that they want to see in their employees. 

Kindness is contagious 

At a time when there is still so much uncertainty in the world, kindness focuses the mind and allows us the opportunity to improve someone else’s day. Not only does this boost serotonin and dopamine, both of which give us feelings of satisfaction and happiness, but numerous studies have shown that being kind is contagious.

When we see someone help another person, it fills us with a natural high that in turn causes us to act altruistically and this can have a hugely positive impact on workplace culture. After all, who hasn’t smiled when someone has done something kind for them? Or watched an act of kindness without a warm fuzzy feeling in the pit of their stomach? 

A great example of this was when I would catch the train to work every morning and buy my breakfast in the station shop. I would take the time to speak to the ladies working there, asking how they were and taking a genuine interest in what they were doing. One day, I went to the checkout to find they had not only bought my breakfast for me, but they had popped a candle in it to wish me a happy birthday. They had returned my kindness with an act of kindness themselves. 

It is these simple acts that can have a lasting and powerful effect on us as human beings. When employees and managers are kind to one another, it has a ripple effect, creating a deeper level of happiness and connection across the entire organisation. In turn, this can have a positive impact on the bottom line, with a recent study finding that happy employees are 20% more productive.

Be kind to ourselves 

When we talk about being kind, it is also important we take the time to be kind to ourselves. We can all sometimes be guilty of spreading ourselves too thinly or worse still, being too self-critical. We live in a culture where we constantly compare our lives to others and focus on what we deem to be our own ‘shortcomings’ but this level of negativity can impact our mood, self-worth and mental health. 

At JourneyHR, we have created a ‘self-care’ What’s App group. As the name suggests, we all post pictures of little acts of self-kindness and take a moment to celebrate and champion our achievements. 

Each of us recognises as individuals our limitations around our own practice of self-care so whether it’s something as simple as going for a walk, taking the time to read a book or just sitting and enjoying a warm drink uninterrupted, we spur each other on to nourish our own physical and mental wellbeing. 

Now more than ever, leaders should encourage their staff to take time for themselves, take regular breaks and make use of their annual leave as well as ensure there are clear boundaries in place so that they can switch off from work in the evenings. 

Research has found that self-kindness not only has a positive impact on our physical health but enables us to feel increasing empathy towards others and become more in tune with how other people are feeling.  

So, in the words of Dalai Lama, “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.”

“The events of this year have given us something unique – the opportunity to stop for a moment, take stock and reframe. A chance for leaders to re-evaluate their behaviours and the way they treat and approach their employees.”