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Strengthen your workplace culture through random acts of kindness

The scientific benefits behind acts of kindness include an increase in energy, happiness, lifespan, pleasure, serotonin and the love hormone! Likewise, being kind can also decrease pain, stress, anxiety, depression and blood pressure.

Recently, we celebrated Mahashivaratri at WeP solutions Bangalore and since it was a working day and many of us were fasting, HR and Management had arranged for fruits and refreshments in every floor and was made accessible to all employees to keep us supporting throughout the fast. I would definitely say that this made a huge difference and this random act of kindness was appreciated.

This is a testament that practicing kindness daily should be done without thought or consideration. So how can we incorporate the practice of kindness within our daily lives?

Since the majority of our time is spent working, it is easy to get caught up with high work priorities– to a point where we lose sight of kindness within the workplace.

Here are 10 random acts of kindness that can be practiced within the workplace so that everyone feels valued:

1) Be a Friend

It’s natural to form friendships with your peers that can extend beyond the walls of the office. Now more than ever, the importance of mental health is having a far-reaching awareness within the workplace. Having a friend at work provides the opportunity to spot the signs of mental illness and to take action so that your friends at work don’t feel isolated.

Having a morning coffee break or going for lunch with your co-workers is a great opportunity to extend your friendship so that you can provide support, advice and generally be there for them if they are encountering challenging times.

 2) Be on Time

This maybe an obvious one but respecting one another’s time at work can make a huge difference. Being late for meetings can impact the schedules of others – especially if they have a particularly challenging schedule that day.

If you are running late for a meeting, be mindful that others are waiting for you. Consider giving your peers a head’s up that you will be attending the meeting a few minutes late or rescheduling the meeting entirely.

 3) Appreciate your work environment (and those that maintain it)

The office is a shared environment designed with the needs of employees in mind. It’s a place where all employees should feel comfortable and productive throughout the day.

It doesn’t cost much to wipe the coffee you spilt on the meeting room table or reload the photocopier with paper or switch off the lights when not in use. When you think about the efforts you take to maintain your home, why shouldn’t this extend to your office? By doing so, you’re helping make the lives of others in your workplace a little bit easier.

4) Share knowledge

Everyone has a role to play towards the success of your team, department and the organization at large. And with that, every individual brings a unique set of skills, knowledge and expertise that can benefit everyone if it is shared.

The benefits of working collectively as a team is that it provides the opportunity to share knowledge or methodologies that may work for you as an individual – which can also benefit the team as one. Sharing knowledge amongst your peers can also provide added value on a collective front. 

5) Recognize your peers

Whether it be the completion of a project or more long-term accolades, your successes within your professional life would have been achieved through the contributions and support of your peers.

Practicing gratitude for your peers towards is an important act of kindness.  

6) Embrace diversity

Every organization represents a melting pot of individuals from different cultural backgrounds. This is reflected through the beliefs and values of every single employee as they execute ideas that move the organization forward.

Embracing diversity can be practiced through simple acts such as acknowledging religious holidays, participating in cultural potlucks or even just supporting organizations meaningful to your peers. 

7) Celebrate personal achievements

Respect for your co-workers can also extend to celebrating the things within their personal lives that are important to them. It’s all too easy to forget that everyone has a life outside of work but sharing and celebrating their personal accomplishments can have a resounding effect in them feeling respected, valued and included.

8) Pay a compliment

In the words of Joyce Meyer, “It’s very inexpensive to give a compliment”, have you ever thought about the last time you complimented a co-worker? Communicating kind words to a co-worker can change their day in an instant – especially if they are encountering a difficult or challenging day at work.

 9) Bring someone a morning coffee or tea

If you are aware of a co-worker or team’s upcoming busy day, consider bringing them a morning coffee or tea to start their day off on a positive note.

This small act of kindness acknowledges the efforts they put in yet also conveys how appreciated they are. 

10) Smile!

And finally – don’t forget to smile! It doesn’t cost you anything to exchange a smile with your peers whether its greeting them first thing in the morning to exchanging a smile across the floor.

Smiling is a powerful gesture that can generate positive emotions amongst one another. Remember to turn the corners of your mouth upwards once in a while – it can make someone feel better about themselves and create a happier workplace overall.

While practicing kindness and acts of kindness should be second nature to everyone, kindness in the workplace is something that can be easily forgotten or overlooked.  Remember to refer to your organization’s corporate values – you’ll realize that kindness aligns to all of them.

As we conclude this article, take a minute to look up from your screen and share a compliment or a smile with your co-worker sitting opposite you. That wasn’t so hard was it?

Scripted by:-

Nandini Ramesh 

Marketing Manager