Adopt kindness in your workplace and your life can lessen your stress to be healthier and happier.
According to the Wellness Council of America, they have 7 bench marks that programs have become more current to actually change employee behavior. More importantly, the councils’ research indicates that the programs need to have lasting results for the right reason and the right manner.
Kindness is defined as: “The quality of being caring, willing to be of service, a habit of doing acts of kind deed; by co-operating and collaborating by doing the right thing.”
What would Kindness look like in your workplace? What if we created more kindness programs?
1 out of 6 employees are assaulted every day according to the International Labour Organization.
Stop someone who bullies would be a kind act; to ignore the problem is not a kind act, nor is it safe.
Demonstrating appreciation of employees is a kind act; to ignore your staff is not showing appreciation, shows that you don’t care.
53% of employees leave an organization because of rudeness
Being civil by saying “Please & Thank you” or by greeting employees warmly is a kind act; to swear or threaten staff is not a kind act. .
High stress in the workplace costs over 12 Billion annually.
A healthy workplace is a kind act; it reduces productivity, employee turnover, direct medical, legal and insurance fees.
A positive thought, a smile or kind word to someone is a kind act; to gossip or think negatively about someone is not a kind act.
People focus is about evaluation, measuring, identifying and involving employees in the solution.
According to CDC about workplace health and wellness
Kindness in the workplace has five key principles to set itself apart from other initiatives:
1. A co-ordinated Framework: incorporate wellness into the corporate fibre of the whole organization.
2. Actionable and Understandable: it is easy to understand and do
3. Inclusive: to encourage employees at all levels to contribute to the social health and productivity of the organization.
4. Inspiring: a shift toward inspiration, rather than motivation for long term success
5. Holistic: as our economy shifts, by owning our own values and putting human spirit back into the workplace.
By consciously embracing wellness with Kindness programs can also have a BIG positive financial impact. Consider it another kind of return on investment. RIO.
BC Hydro reported a saving of at least $3 for every dollar spent on workplace wellness over a 10 year period, Chart Specialities, had a 10% increase in productivity less friction.
A wellness program will attract better employees, clients and shareholders who seek out these companies to work with and invest in. Another opportunity to serve your employee group is offering them a an opportunity to have their end of life affairs in place. They can start by getting the Legacy Playbook..
Employee engagement drives growth by Gallup
This original article was published in 2003, written by Mari-Lyn. Just updated it in 2026.
Have we arrived yet?
There are so many stats and success stories, why do we keep having failures when it comes to workplace well-being and the wellness of the people working at businesses?
It’s sad, it’s more than this, it’s a tragedy, that overall we can’t adopt kindness.
Perhaps after 20 years we are still dealing with people who only look at profits being the bottom line, to get there you need healthy people.
What I have realized is that when each person heals themselves, they will enter work, being a happier, healthier people.
Thus kindness will grow. Adopt Kindness, learn more