Kindness @ Work
Having a break from paid work is positive in allowing time for contemplation and reflection. Currently I’m remembering how I can breathe, pause and create — finding a positive cycle. Recognising that I’m lucky to be able to have time to give to this.
Inevitably I’m also thinking about the many partners (around 400) that I’ve engaged with during the last couple of years. The level of contact varied but at all times I’ve been struck by how many in the voluntary sector are engaged in promoting positive information and finding positive solutions to the social issues we work with. They are fantastic, committed individuals.
Where does kindness fit into this voluntary sector provision and how is it enabled in the workplace? How do we show kindness in our communities and make an impact.
Carnegie UK have done much to promote thinking about the ‘practice of kindness’ including working with a local council and many other partners by focusing on how kindness works in practice. The Scottish government has also recently emphasised that it sees improving collective well-being is an important part of it’s future economic policy — identifying fair work and fair pay as being central. The two aspirations are undoubtedly linked and of huge importance to the voluntary sector.
Kindness in the voluntary sector can come with challenges — here are a few personal examples — I’m sure we all have experiences
- How can a team providing health and well-being activities react when another befriending service is set up locally and wants the team to refer to them? How can they be kind to the people they work with who may benefit from the new service, when referring them away may impact on the way their own service is evaluated?
- Is providing support always automatic —a former staff member who did not want to provide advice to someone as they believed they were faking their issues. How do we act kindly to those most on the margins — do we only support those we empathise with?
- Is it reasonable to expect people in care and support services to be kind in jobs that leave them so low paid? To be constantly needing to reapply for their jobs when contracts are renewed and cost cutting take place?
- How do we respond when a manager in our organisation is a known bully? Knowing that their behaviour is impacting on the happiness of the team and on the quality of the work being done.
- A team member needs time out because of stress and exhaustion. A deadline is coming up and as the manager you’re under a lot of pressure to deliver the project. Negotiating and accepting changes in project timescales reflecting the health and well-being of a team should be part of ‘routine’ project management.
Below are some of my own thoughts on how the voluntary sector may be able to change not just cultural norms within our organisations, but also the systems and structures that we routinely use to deliver services to those living with inequality and disadvantage.
Are these the things we need to do to direct change? For sure these are not exhaustive as potential areas for review. I’d like to hear form others.
Lastly the above may come across as too structural, it’s not to ignore that kindness is about how we treat each other — every day — it’s my view that this necessitates changes in the way that the voluntary sector works, and how we deliver support and services to those who are most excluded.
