Fostering A Culture of Compassion in The Workplace

The outburst of the pandemic has made drastic changes in the way we live and work. The impact of the pandemic has accelerated the evolution of the work environment and the employer-employee relationships.
In this time of uncertainty, most of the employees are struggling with mental health and anxieties as a result of the pandemic. Fostering compassion in the organizational structure can go a long way and help employees overcome their struggles and feelings by offering support.

Why compassion matters

Compassion really matters in the workspace!
Especially on remote working days, employees may experience a feeling of isolation. Making time for your colleagues can have great benefits on their mental and general wellbeing.
Research shows that compassion in the workplace can positively affect employee productivity and is essential for preserving employee morale, teamwork, and employee satisfaction.

The ways to cultivate compassion

Though we spend a significant part of our lives at work, how well do you know about the people you work with. It is essential to know about your teammates, whether they sit across desk or work across the globe.
Asking some simple questions, even “how did you spend your weekend?” can help establish stronger bonds and insights about your people. It creates a feeling in your coworker that people really care for them. The impact it can have will be great.
Be ready to practice a simple act of kindness to help your teammates and brighten their day. It could be even showing random appreciation to encourage them.
Listen to your teammates patiently and without prejudgments when they open up with their concerns. Also, give advice only when they ask for it. It would be good to create support groups for employees who require peer support.
Team leads should be considerate while assigning tasks and setting expectations. If possible, leads can reserve the tasks with less priority for a later period to help employees avoid burnout.
Allow your employees to connect with their coworkers in an informal setting. This will help to create closer bonds, which is especially important today for remote working and while hiring new employees.

Showing compassion during remote working

While remote working, it might be tough to understand what the other person is going through. It is difficult to pick up on signs that your colleagues are struggling. Team leaders can schedule informal video conferences to discuss unofficial matters.
Employees can get to know each other and can also pay particular attention to each other’s facial expressions and body language. If you are scheduling audio conferences, tone of voice to an extent, can help to sense how your people are feeling.
Setting up open communication can help to make a humane touch during remote working and let your people talk about things outside work. Team leaders can also schedule one-on-one meetings regularly to keep in touch with your fellow teams.
Create a social feeling that there are ears to listen to and people to support and help them when employees are feeling down.

To sum up

A compassionate workplace improves productivity and employee retention. Employees get a feeling that they are part of the team.
So next time, if you feel that your colleagues are facing issues, remember it’s good to talk.