Did you ever hear the phrase, “You can catch more flies with honey”?
It may be a bit cliché and clever, but the message is one that can resonate from your home life to your work life: Just be kind! Not only is it simply the right thing to do but, when it comes to your professional life, showing kindness can make a huge difference in how much you enjoy your job—and even your ultimate career success!
Kindness may be something we were all taught back in preschool but it still can be one of the hardest traits to come by in the workplace. As we’ve certainly all experienced, work can be frustrating: With the pressure of meeting deadlines, challenges of working with teammates with different approaches and the weight of work responsibilities on top of all of your other obligations, it can be tough to always respond with kindness when you’re at work—especially if you’re dealing with colleagues, customers or even managers who themselves aren’t doling out kindness!
But, this National Be Kind to Humankind Week is the perfect opportunity to recommit yourself to showing kindness throughout all the corners of your life, including at work. Here are just a few reasons why practicing kindness can benefit you:
- Satisfaction booster: Plain and simple, being kind feels good! Whether it’s offering to cover lunch for your team, going out of the way to help a customer or taking the high road when faced with a difficult challenge (or person!) at work, when you choose kindness, you feel better about yourself. That, in turn, allows you to approach your work and the entire workplace with a better attitude, allowing you to find more joy in your job.
- Productivity enhancer: When you’re more satisfied at work, you can also be more productive! Being dragged down by frustration or annoyance can be a major pull on productivity; but, when you’re approaching your workplace with kindness, it’s easier to see the positive side of things, which can keep you motivated and engaged.
- Morale booster: Just as negative attitudes can be contagious, so too can kindness! When you practice kindness at work, it can fuel better relationships throughout your team, as others may be inspired to themselves turn to kindness. Think about those viral stories of customers in the drive-through line paying it forward for the car behind them: Those customers in turn (usually!) offer to pay it forward for the next car, and the acts of kindness snowball.
- Connection builder: Kindness can set off a great cycle: The happier you are, the better your work becomes. And the better your work becomes, the more others take notice. And the more others take notice, the more likely you are to build the connections and reputation that can open doors for you, ultimately allowing you to take your career to the next level.
To mark National Be Kind to Humankind Week, commit to bringing your best self to work this week: Show up for your team, stand out to your supervisors and make a name for yourself in the best way possible!
