A Workplace Culture of Kindness Can Boost Performance, Engagement, and the Bottom Line
In short, yes, a workplace culture of kindness isn’t just feel-good fluff; research shows that it can be talent management strategic lever that boosts performance, engagement, innovation, and the bottom line.

The People Kindness Problem

  • According to a recent survey conducted by OnePoll of more than 2000 American workers, 59% feel that they have never had a boss that genuinely appreciates their work.

  • According to Gallup, the number of employees who say they feel engaged, satisfied, purpose-driven, and energized at work is at an all-time low. A whopping 4.8 million fewer U.S. employees are engaged this year than last year.

  • A Harvard Business School study of more than 60,000 employees found that 38% of employees subjected to incivility in the workplace intentionally decreased the quality of their work.

Why a Workplace Culture of Kindness Matters
We know from organizational culture assessment data that getting engagement right matters because it impacts performance, employee retention, customer service, safety incidents, work quality, and profitability.  Here’s why and how a workplace culture of kindness matters to the people AND the business.

  1. Kindness Builds Psychological Safety
    Kindness at work cultivates psychological team safety — an essential condition where employees trust that they won’t be penalized for speaking up, sharing ideas, or making mistakes. This culture of openness, in turn, allows for enough constructive debate and commitment to fuel innovation, learning, and performance.

    According to research by The Open Psychology Journal, “team effectiveness is positively impacted by team psychological safety.”

    Is your culture healthy enough to create higher performance?

  2. Kind Leaders Drive Real Business Results
    Research from the Greater Good Science Center reveals that leaders who demonstrate prosocial behaviors (e.g., acknowledging employee efforts and giving back to their communities) deliver stronger employee engagement, higher profitability, and lower organizational risk. Additionally, we know from new manager training that leaders who model empathy and fairness inspire employees to reciprocate with effort, fostering a high performance culture.

  3. Everyday Kindness Translates into Higher Productivity
    Acts of kindness (e.g., acknowledging effort, mentoring colleagues, or expressing gratitude) produce measurable performance gains:

    — A study by the Association of Professional Executives found civil and respectful workplaces yield 26% more energy, 36% more job satisfaction, and 44% greater organizational commitment.

    Researcher Martha Crowley analyzed the results of 263 studies involving nearly 1.4 million employees in 192 firms across 49 industries, looking at their “managerial citizenship behaviors.” She found that helping others without direct reward correlated with improved efficiency, customer satisfaction, creativity, and retention.

    — A case study from M-Nic Consultancy and Research Centre observed that the correlation between employee recognition and employee productivity are highly related. Just saying “thank you” can improve productivity by 82.9% and showing appreciation of work done can improve productivity by 86.4%.

  4. Kindness Combats Cliques, Burnout, and Disrespect
    Negative and toxic behaviors have well documented costs. According to the Journal of Applied Psychology, even mild rudeness reduced team performance by 44% in the healthcare industry. In contrast, cultures rooted in respect and kindness lower stress, absenteeism, and turnover, while improving morale and overall well-being.

  5. Kindness Strengthens Well-Being and Collaboration
    According to Duke Health, kindness also boosts mental health. It:

    — Triggers feel-good hormones like oxytocin and dopamine.
    — Helps to mitigate burnout and anxiety.
    — Facilitates better teamwork by encouraging collaborative behaviors across teams.
    — Raises morale and collective performance.

The Bottom Line
You can have a “kind” and high performing organization.  A workplace culture grounded in genuine kindness sets the stage for high performance.   Far from being a “soft” management strategy, a kind workplace is a powerful way to perform at your peak.

To learn more about how to create a kind and high performing culture, download The 3 Levels of Culture that Leaders Must Get Right

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