by Nadav Klein , Eliot Gattegno , Athena; and Rachel Eva Lim ,
Gone are the days when ruthlessness was synonymous with doing business. Today, kindness is extolled by many as an important virtue to bring into the workplace. Researchers have highlighted its potential to boost employee well-being in hybrid work settings and contribute to positive business outcomes, while numerous companies have expressed a commitment to kindness values and pledges.
Defined simply as doing nice things for others, kindness is universally appreciated. However, without proper qualification, the recommendation to be kind is like the recommendation to exercise: Great in principle, but impractical without knowing the scope and dosage. How kind should one be at work? How often? Should we be kind to others to the point of self-immolation, or is it enough to be a little kind to reap the benefits of kindness for ourselves and others?
Broadening the definition
In an earlier article, I (Nadav Klein) discussed research which found that the reputational and social benefits of kindness top out at a certain point. This is usually the point at which actions and behaviours meet the acceptable norms in the workplace. Be a decent human being, and you have reached the optimal point at which the benefits of showing kindness exceed the personal costs. Go a bit over, and the equation flips. It’s not that people don’t appreciate “extreme” kindness – it’s just that they really appreciate others “just” being decent. All costs and benefits considered, it does no additional good to ask people to maximise kindness as currently defined.
If this sort of kindness has its limits, are there other potentially more beneficial ways that we can practise kindness at work? We (Klein and Eliot Gattegno) suggest that the answer lies in expanding the definition of the term to include leadership actions that benefit people in both the short and long run, which we outline below. Once this new definition is set, new opportunities to practice kindness arise.