Corporate Kindness – 5 Amazing Benefits To Creating A Culture Of Generosity In The Workplace

If you were asked to list the most valuable attributes for corporate success, generosity probably wouldn’t be the first to come to mind. While being generous with those in need is certainly virtuous, there’s a sort of unspoken rule that business is all about the profit margin, making generosity seem out of place. However, there are many benefits – even financial ones – to be gained from cultivating a culture of generosity in your workplace.

1. Employees feel valued

If you tailor your acts of generosity to suit the personal needs of your employees, you’ll see an incredible shift in office dynamics. Instead of giving standard corporate gifts, get to know your staff, their interests, loves, and needs. A beautiful travel coffee mug would be a careless gift to an employee who’s just given up coffee. However, it would show the office caffeine fiend that you care. Meanwhile, your employee who’s struggling through coffee withdrawals might appreciate a half-day off or a massage voucher!

2. Generosity and honesty go hand-in-hand

When you set a standard for generosity in the workplace, it flows into the attitudes of everyone who works with you. Generous people are more likely to share credit, give up their time to help colleagues, and lend their expertise when needed, even if it doesn’t serve them personally. This translates to a strong collective work ethic, free-flowing communication, and willingness to collaborate. In turn, this leads to greater productivity and innovative idea generation. Meanwhile, such selflessness can help cut down on the stress and the negative edge that self-interested competition can create in the workplace.

3. You’ll become a valued part of the greater community

Getting involved in philanthropic pursuits allows you and your employees to forge valuable relationships in the greater community. The poet John Donne once wrote that “no man is an island.” The same is true of businesses. Just as generosity and honesty go hand-in-hand, so do generosity and trust. In addition to the direct benefits of securing loyal customers through your contributions to the community, having an inspiring, philanthropic company vision allows you and your staff to feel that you’re part of something positive. The feeling of fulfillment and work satisfaction that arises from this is priceless.

4. Workplace conflicts will be drastically reduced

Full-time employees spend as much or more time with their colleagues as they do with their families. Given how easy it is for conflict to arise at home, it’s next to impossible to avoid it in the workplace. When a culture of generosity is fostered, the energy that was once funneled into conflict can be redirected. Ensuring new employees are given plenty of mentoring time, celebrating achievements and ensuring credit is given to those who deserve it will shift the focus of your workplace to a more team-driven dynamic.

5. Your employees will be healthier

Research shows that generous people reap massive physical and mental health benefits. While being generous with others has been shown to reduce stress and anxiety, there are even more benefits to be gained when people extend this generous attitude to themselves. If your employees are encouraged to prioritize their physical and mental wellbeing, they will bring more energy and emotional stability to work.

Create a workplace in which employees are encouraged to be generous with themselves, their co-workers, and the greater community. Your office will flourish into a place full of people who are genuinely happy to be there. A shared philanthropic purpose and ethos of valuing your needs and those of your co-workers is all it takes to boost morale and positively transform your workplace.