Operationalizing Kindness at Work: This Is What Kindness Looks Like

Kindness is about being compassionate, considerate and caring for other people without the expectation of getting something in return for it.

Kindness and compassion is about using your talents, resources and leverage to improve other people’s lives by leading with authentic acts of love, generosity, compassion, care and, especially, service.

Kindness creates an environment of trust, safety, belonging and inclusion, all of which are conducive to a great human experience at work, which ultimately translates in increased engagement, productivity, performance and, yes, loyalty.

The connection between leading with kindness and getting results at work is strong, albeit indirect. This is because leading with kindness’s direct result is creating better conditions for people to be treated with love and respect. As employees feel that there is compassion, consideration?and care toward them, they in turn deliver more and better for the organization and the leader.

People who give and receive kindness are less prone to harmful stress (because they create less cortisol), their mood improves which has an impact in potential anxiety, depression levels decrease for them, and blood pressure reduces because of the release of oxytocin. All in all, kindness, philosophically and scientifically, is the way to lead!

The positive effect of KINDNESS in... everything... including work is not fluff. It's real.

We feel happier and more joyful, committed, acknowledged, healed by giving and receiving acts of kindness. This isn't just a feeling in your head or subjective. Acts of kindness, in both the giver and the receiver, release hormones in our bodies that create the conditions for more love, joy and bond. Overall, therefore, kindness impacts the overall wellbeing of the giver and the receiver.

By creating the conditions for kindness to emerge and thrive at work we are simultaneously creating a corporate culture in which kindness givers and receivers can better manage pain, stress and anxiety, while giving more love, having more joy and building better relationships.

The consequence is evident: a workplace in which the top reasons why people feel engaged and happy are present, thus resulting in higher performance and more productivity.

Kindness, then, is good for the people involved in giving and receiving acts of kindness and also for the organization that promotes it as a pillar of its culture.

Kindness is a powerful way to create stronger organizations.

And this is how you create workplaces of kindness and compassion.

Operationalizing Kindness at Work

1. Kindness and compassion can't (just) be a corporate mandate. They have to be genuine in the interactions of all people in the organization because it is the right thing to do
2. Listen with the intent to understand (not with the intent to respond or react). Listening is the essence of kindness and compassion at work
3. Seek to understand others (through the power of listening) as it provides the opportunity to learn about their situation and offer better help
4. Remain open-minded to people not wanting your help when you are offering it. Kindness and compassion is also about knowing that others do not always need assistance, but just to feel heard and seen
5. Focus on building trust and maintaining your integrity in all your interactions with others. Trust and integrity are the pillars of kindness and compassion
6. Compliment people at work, not only for their results and performance but for their efforts
7. Celebrate milestones
8. Show gratitude and appreciation, and give people credit
9. Treat people with dignity and respect and make sure you call out and immediately address disrespectful behaviors
10. Be flexible in the way you interact with others, especially when they are going through hard times. "One-size fits all" doesn't work. your corporate policies are designed for standard situations, not special ones
11. Provide growth feedback. This kind of feedback is designed and given with the intent to help the recipient grow and progress as a person, not just do better in their work
12. Be genuine and authentic with your intentions about helping or supporting others. Don't do it just to check a box in your performance review or to make others feel that you care. do it because you truly care
13. Foster transparency in communications
14. Create an environment that fosters self-care: mental health and holistic well-being
15. Support people in creating meaningful connections and relationships at work

Acts of Intentional Kindness at Work

• Give people your full attention when they need your help and you can offer it
• Be welcoming and inclusive with new employees, especially those who are remote workers
• Send notes of appreciation to those who have helped you as soon as they do
• Listen more than you speak
• Be a role model for kindness but also other positive behaviors
• Give a boost to those coworkers who may be dealing with difficulties or complexity
• Say Thank You (generously!)
• Be compassionate to others and yourself (even when they are rude or difficult)
• Initiate a conversation with coworkers in other departments
• Encourage people (and yourself!) to take care of themselves and rest
• Give something meaningful to those who matter the most to you at work. Small things with a lot of value to them
• Think about others and what makes them feel loved and accepted. Kindness: do it for them, genuinely

Start Small

Sometimes, a lot of times!, a small (random or intentional) act of kindness can dramatically change someone's day. Don't underestimate the power of kindness.

There's a lot we can do for our mental health and that of those around us. Kindness is essential to improve our mental health and overall well-being.

And this is beauty of kindness: it makes the recipient, the giver AND the observer of that of kindness feel better.

It's one of the few sources of energy that multiplies itself, infinitely. It just needs us to fire it up!

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By Enrique Rubio, Founder of Hacking HR

(Note: I write fast, speak fast and read fast. Sometimes - often times - I don't see the typos! Please let me know if there are typos or grammatical misconstructions in my write ups. It happened to Shakespeare, it certainly can happen to me. Do so with kindness, compassion and grace, though. I appreciate it!)