Leadership, Mindfulness, Spa

Kindness at Work

As a Wellness Director an ongoing personal and professional search is essential for the most current trend of feel good remedies in the marketplace.  During a recent meeting of wellness professionals in the Coachella Valley, the topic of radiant health by use of structured water and vibrational therapy was introduced.  These were intriguing topics which coincided with a speaker I presented at my work who gave a compassionate talk to forty employees on creating a drama free workplace. This talk became a convincing takeaway with the potential to produce a very effective health shift beyond new gizmos or gadgets. A work environment of empathy and respect creates a golden key to success.

With 59% of the American population working 1/3 of their life, the secret to living a happy existence may rest at work.  Considering that 83% of Americans have little or no passion for work and only 17% of Americans are excited about their work, it behooves one to ask some honest questions.  As a manager, there is an added responsibility to create an environment that allows authenticity and safety for employees to be transparent, with a shared voice devoid of repercussion, judgement and ridicule.  Employees there also have obligation to set the tone. Often we believe the quality of the environment comes from company culture and the manager; yet, we must all set an example.

Google spent 2 years studying their organization with a mission called the Aristotle Project.  This manifested from Aristotle’s quote “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” From this innovational work the number one success formula was psychological safety.  When one dreads or fears a part of their environment it can destroy them.  An honest question to ask every daily would be “What is my contribution to the success and dysfunction at work?”  Imperfection abides with moments where work is treated as a place where profits and production are the driving force and feelings must be set aside.  When one allows time for kindness with other fellow employees, it allows the viciousness and division to fall by the wayside.  There is a corrosive nature to judgement. Every person can fall into a trap of making judgements about other fellow co-workers, mostly which are unwarranted.

This past week, when fellow staff members took five minutes to share what brought them joy in life, the energy in the room shifted.  Those who were active listeners learned unique, touching qualities from their work partner, and those that shared felt heard and respected.  Our instinctual habit is to look around our environment and check for safety approximately three times every seven seconds.  When we enter work striving to be professionally productive, and also with an intent to instill psychological safety to all around us, we immediately change our physiology by setting forth care and concern for our workplace.   Life is too short with much time at work.  Our number one imperative should focus on ways to bring more of our brilliance into the equation.