WORLD KINDNESS DAY: 63% of UK employees value kindness as a leadership trait

63% of UK employees value kindness as a leadership trait, according commissioned by Perkbox ahead of World Kindness Day (November 13th)

Introduced in 1998, World Kindness Day is a day for the celebration of kindness in society and day to day life.

The Perkbox research, which polled 2,000 employed UK adults, has found that one in three employees feel this day should be celebrated. Despite this, almost half of those surveyed said they hadn’t heard of this day before.

The firm says it appears it could be a lack of awareness that is preventing many UK businesses and employees from participating. 

When asked what the kindest thing a co-worker has ever done for us as employees, 35% of those surveyed stated it was being ‘provided with support when experiencing personal problems’.

This was followed by receiving a ‘thank you gesture’ such as a note or present, chosen by 30% of those polled. In third place was being ‘made a cup of tea’, which was chosen by 27% of employees.

Meanwhile, when it came to career growth, peer-to-peer support from colleagues in the same team ranked ahead of managers. ‘A colleague in my team’ was chosen by a huge 39% of people whilst ‘my manager’ – was chosen by 29% of employees. A  ‘mentor outside my organisation’ ranked in third place and was chosen by 17% of respondents. 

Madlena Pozlevic, Employee Experience Lead at Perkbox, said: “With November being known as a grey and dreary month, there is no better time to spread some kindness and boost morale amongst your employees. Getting involved in World Kindness Day as a business doesn’t have to be a costly exercise and – as you can see from the research above – could involve anything as simple as  sending out a thank you email or making your colleagues a cup of coffee. Every little bit helps, just make sure you join us in celebrating!”

Image by reneebigelow from Pixabay