Article by Alex Fradera from Research Digest  

In the lab, psychologists have shown how generosity propagates and spreads. If someone is kind to us, we tend to “pay it forward” and act more generously to someone else when given the chance. But it’s not clear if these findings are realistic. For example, when we’re juggling priorities on a busy work day, might receiving an act of kindness actually be a nuisance, leaving us feeling indebted to return the favour when we’ve got more important things to do? An uplifting new study in the journal Emotion looks at acts of altruism within a real-life working environment, and shows how kindness really does ripple outwards from a good deed.

The conclusion is that workplace acts of kindness – freely chosen – appear to be a way to create virtuous cycles within organisations, benefiting the recipients, the givers, and the climate at large. Just get the goodness started, and enjoy its growth all around you.

Read the whole article on Research Digest.

Read also:

10 Simple things the CEO can do to create a happy workplace