Every day Peter Stier interacts with hundreds, if not thousands of work colleagues. He knows most by name, and prides himself on always sharing a smile.
"I don't stay and speak to people for hours, but I love to say hello and create a friendly atmosphere," Peter says. "I like to make people happy, and it gives me job satisfaction to bring a smile to their face. I try to be a bright part of their day."
Often the exchange is fleeting, as Peter goes about his business, but his thoughtfulness doesn't go unnoticed.
When Director of the University of New England SMART Region Incubator Lou Conway recently moved offices she realised that she missed her regular interactions with Peter.
"His friendly smile and warm acknowledgement made a positive difference to my working day," Lou says. "I realised that for all his efficiency and evenness, he was genuinely very kind. Something special happens when a colleague expresses themselves through such simple gestures."
A former wool classer, Peter has been in his busy role at the university for 10 years. A previous job in wholesaling business, he says, taught him the importance of customer service and that "if you treat someone well, they will do the same to you".
"Everyone is important in an organisation as large as ours, and each person deserves to be treated kindly and with respect," Peter says.
However, this can easily be forgotten, says another of Peter's colleagues - Professor within the School of Law and Chair of the Academic Board, Mark Perry.
"The culture of any organisation is key to it's success, if not its survival," he says. "Several large-scale studies in the United States show that organisations with a more supportive culture, where people are encouraged to be kind, are more productive and successful.
"Demonstrating kindness at work only takes seconds, yet has both selfish and community benefits. Other studies have shown that if you see, let alone perform and random act of kindness, your dopamine levels rise, so helping others makes us feel good. It can also have a great impact on the atmosphere in a meeting or during an interaction, and this snowballs to produce a happier community within the organisation."
So what is Peter's role within the university? He's the central logistics driver, or mailman, who delivers 90 bags of incoming mail each work day, swapping them for bags of outgoing correspondence.
"I look forward to going to work every day and seeing everyone," Peter says. "It's a job that keeps me fit - I do 12-13,000 steps a day - which is fortunate because I am always being invited to share in morning or afternoon teas.
"The university is like one big family to me, and it's taught me that a little kindness goes a long way."
