Do you want a more compassionate workplace? Read this.

Our Happiness Ambassador takes a quick look at what inhibits compassion in workplaces, and how we can start to turn that around.

If you want others to be happy, practice compassion

If you want to be happy, practice compassion – Dalai lama

Of all our human values and abilities, compassion is a special one. We can’t always define it exactly, but we certainly notice when it’s not there. Compassion is about making connections with others, understanding that we all want and need to feel safe, seen, valued and cared for. Compassion is in sharing resources, skills and ideas. Compassion come from focusing on what matters to other people and what their needs are.

The general scientific consensus is that compassion is hardwired into us. Throughout the history of humanity we have uncovered evidence of mutual aid. This might simply be because compassion has been essential to our survival as a physiologically vulnerable species living in harsh conditions. Our public services, advancements in medicine, charitable organisations – everything we have devised and built to relieve suffering comes from compassion.

everything we have devised and built to relieve suffering comes from compassion

If we were motivated only by self-interest, we wouldn’t respond to the suffering of others the way we do.  Nor is it simply a transactional exchange of help and resources for the purposes of survival and progression. Studies have found that even in small children, giving to others activates a reward centre in brain, without any rational anticipation of return.

Whilst this is pleasing news, it seems scarcely believable. In the modern world we are exposed to endless evidence of cruelty, horror, profit-mongering and atrocity.  If compassion is within us by nature, how has is got so undermined?

Compassion killers

Here are some examples of things that drive down the extent that people can feel compassion for themselves and others:

• Competition for power and resources
• Existing in an environment of fear and stress
• Tribalism and the conflict this fosters
• Inequality and injustice

All of this can be present in workplaces and recently we have faced the horrifying truth that this includes health and social care – a human endeavour which was built on compassion, and one which attracts a naturally compassionate workforce. Our compassionate institutions are under pressure, and this pressure is felt by the people working within them.  This can cause negative behaviour towards one another and sometimes also the people they care for.

The good news is that this virtue can be taught (or re-learned), and even a brief intervention in compassion can be enough.  We might be born with it, but we still have to practise it. We have to ensure that the cultures of our institutions value compassion and nurture it.

There are plenty of resources out there to help us exercise and increase our compassion. If you’re interested in looking for them, that’s a great start because it shows you already care about committing to relieving the distress of other people, in whatever ways are possible for you.

Here’s an exercise you can try:

1.  Adopt an open and relaxed posture. Notice any tension in your body, and relax it.

2. Take a deep and calming breath; imagining you are breathing in good will, kindness and warmth.

3. Try to picture the most compassionate version of yourself.  You can write or draw it, if that helps.

• What does that person look like? What is their body language like? Their facial expressions?
• What sort of things does that person do?  How do they listen?
• What sort of things does that person say? What is their tone like?
• How do others respond to that person? What words would they use to describe their personality?
• How does that person feel about who they are and how they relate to others?
• How does that person demonstrate compassionate to themselves?

4. How does imagining this make you feel? Do you want to be that person? When you are at the end of your life, do you think you would look back and regret being that person?

At Boo we teach people how to be more compassionate leaders, and that of course, includes self compassion. Check out our flagship Caring for Your Teams programme.

Here are some good resources for strengthening your compassion: How to Be More Compassionate: A Mindful Guide to Compassion – Mindful

I’ve been a member of the Global Compassion Coalition on behalf of Boo, since it began in 2022. Here are their 10 actions for compassionate living.

 

Amy X