Kindness is a key component of any successful business. After all, what employee would want to work for an unkind manager or business model? Like any aspect of life, kindness at work should be regularly practiced in order to foster successful work relationships.

In the United States, work tends to envelop our lives. Workers are expected to be as productive and efficient as possible, for the benefit of the company they work for. This often means forfeiting breaks and eating lunch quickly. In a study conducted by Tork, it was found that workers who did not take a lunch break every day had lower workplace satisfaction, lower opinions of their employer, and felt less efficient than they ought to be (https://cdntorkprod.blob.core.windows.net/docs-c5/763/185763/original/tork-takes-back-survey.pdf). The overall consensus of this study is that employees who take breaks are often more satisfied with work.

As discussed above, it is crucial for managers to exercise kindness in the workplace. Without this administrative kindness, employees will become overly competitive, stressed, and ultimately burn out. Managers ought to consider objections and concerns from employees, rather than taking the stance of superiority. There is a clear shift in modern business toward a more equal model. Many companies now offer flexible hours and more lax break times as kind gestures from management, in an effort to reduce the stress commonly associated with work. In this 2016 article from Forbes, it was determined that flexible hours at work led to greater achievement in the workplace, fewer sick days, longer hours worked, and happier workers (https://www.forbes.com/sites/adigaskell/2016/01/15/why-a-flexible-worker-is-a-happy-and-productive-worker/?sh=63e96e2e14c4).

Kindness between employees can often result from administrative kindness. If managers create a less competitive and stressful environment, employee infighting will be reduced. As employees become happier, it is no surprise that kindness follows.

In addition to a kinder environment created by management, simple gestures offered from one coworker to another can fundamentally change productivity and the happiness of employees. Total Wellness Health offers several suggestions for easy ways to spread kindness at work. Below are 5 of the most impactful:

• Creating a kindness bulletin board for positive uplifting messages.
• Offering to bring in food or coffee for coworkers.
• Celebrating office birthdays in some capacity.
• Offering help on projects.
• Having meaningful conversations.

(https://info.totalwellnesshealth.com/blog/14-ways-to-spread-kindness-at-work)

By utilizing these strategies for increasing kindness in the office, any workplace will no doubt become more productive and happier overall. Kindness makes all the difference in the world.