Kindness at Work: Does It Actually Work?

Kindness might not be seen as a priority in organisations, but, can it make us better at our jobs?

Our dream is to create a happy and successful business where people would love to work. That’s why a few years ago, we became partners with Woohoo Inc, international experts in helping companies achieve happiness at work.

Marija Lazarević and Aleksandar Milić

Over the years, we have experimented to learn new things. Before we share with you some of our programs, learn what benefits instilling kindness principles can bring to your organisation.

What Are the Benefits of Kindness at Work?

Acts of kindness might not be the first thing to come to mind when you think about productivity and business performance. However, an interesting Canadian study on workplace civility included the following statistics about organisations with high levels of respect and civility and their employees’ performance:

• Employees show 26% more energy at work
• The team members are 30% more likely to feel motivated and enthusiastic about acquiring new skills and being exposed to new ideas
• Employees are 36% more satisfied with their jobs
• 44% of employees are more committed to their organisations
• Employees who work in respectful teams show 20% higher performance when compared to individuals who are working in a less kind environment

What Do We Do to Spread Kindness at Work?

Here, at Vega IT, we believe that being kind to each other gives us an opportunity to improve relationships, make social connections with the people we might not regularly interact with and boost the overall morale in the team.

Over the years we have started numerous programs and activities which celebrate kindness at work. Here are just a few examples:

• Most inspiring act of kindness is a program where anyone can nominate any of our colleagues and celebrate them for their good deeds non-related to the work.
• The colleague of the month program gives us the opportunity to anonymously nominate any of our colleagues who tries to go over and beyond their responsibilities in order to help others.
• In STAR...that makes others shine program, our colleagues with less experience can nominate a colleague who offers them support, guidance and mentorship without being their formal mentor.
• Praising colleagues for their accomplishments through our happiness survey tool.
• Praising our colleagues’ achievements on our G+ Recognition page.
• Celebrating internal success and sharing various updates in our internal monthly magazine called Happiness Central.

Remember that no matter how big or small a random act of kindness is, it can start a ripple effect in your organisation.

"Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.” - Dalai Lama