An editorial in a NSW private school magazine last year that encouraged students to act with kindness in all situations impressed but also challenged Dr Jim Page*. He consequently published an article in Australian Ethics under the title ‘Is kindness enough?’ We've asked him to help us flesh out what kindness looks like in the workplace.
In the first of our three-part series, he starts by exploring what kindness actually is.
How do you define kindness?
Oh yes, how one defines kindness is crucial. Ethics literature traditionally links kindness to the concept of benevolence. In practical terms, however, it is probably more useful to think of kindness in terms of openness, generosity and showing consideration for the needs of others. It’s also interesting to ask who we extend kindness to - to those within our own in-group or to others as well?
Why is kindness important?
I think the most important aspect of kindness is that it gives an individual agency. In any context - social or professional - we can easily feel disempowered or simply confused as to what is the right thing to do. Kindness can help to cut through that.
Kindness can also help provide for social cohesion. It is somewhat commonplace these days for writers to lament the breakdown of social cohesion, be this in the workplace or wider community. Kindness is a way that we can mitigate this breakdown.
Interestingly, kindness may also involve being kind to yourself, such as telling another person that you are simply unable to do what is being asked of you. This gives you a certain calmness.
Now, this may have negative ramifications in the workplace.
Yet it’s strange how having the courage to tell the truth says something about your character, and a good employer will hopefully recognise this.
In any case, if you really cannot do something, then you cannot do it.
Why can kindness be considered a strength and not a weakness?
I think there can be this attitude that if someone is kind, he/she is a loser, to use a negative word common in popular culture. Kindness is often not seen as a professional attribute. Yet kindness is almost counter-cultural in the hyper-competitive world we live in. Thus, demonstrating kindness may also, ironically, demonstrate a degree of courage and self-confidence.
UNE Adjunct Professor, Dr James Page
What place does kindness have in the workplace?
One would like to say that kindness has a central place, or ought to have a central place. Yes, there are many toxic workplaces and, yes, we often have to deal with bullying and so forth. There’s also a widespread hyper-competitiveness in many workplaces that undercuts collegiality and can turn a workplace into something that is less than enjoyable.
Overall, however, kindness can help build trust and relationships. People are better engaged with their work, and this creates a better culture, resulting in better productivity and job satisfaction.
How do we demonstrate kindness?
I think something as simple as active listening can be useful, or thanking someone for work they have delivered, giving them a compliment, or actually hearing what a work colleague is saying. Interestingly, one of the implications of being a good listener is, sometimes, being slow to speak and slow to make judgements.
What qualities should complement kindness?
I would say honesty and setting boundaries. In other words, explaining your actions to others. It is surprising how much people can accept difficult decisions if they know there is a clear and logical reason for the decision.
* Dr James Page is an Australian educationist and anthropologist. He is currently an Adjunct Professor in the School of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences at the University of New England.
