The Top 4 Ways Compassion Helps Organizations

Compassion is not a fad. It’s proven science. Compassion benefits us individually - by improving our health, growing our self-awareness, and helping us to learn different perspectives. It turns out, compassion benefits organizations as well.

Here are the top 4 ways compassion helps organizations.

1. Compassion within organizations relieves stress and burnout. Stress at work not only affects our health, it can affect our work relationships and focus, too. Researchers find that both the giving and receiving of compassion in the workplace decreases depression and negative feelings - like irritability and aggression - and increases creativity, performance, and productivity. People miss less work due to illness, which also decreases health care expenses.

2. Compassion increases a sense of community. Compassion deepens connections to the organization and to each other. When we care about each other and the work that we do, we build better relationships at work, which leads to more commitment to the workplace. The end result is lower turnover and higher productivity and engagement.

3. Compassion leads to better financial results. We all know that the results of compassion listed above -  fewer absences, lower healthcare costs, decreased turnover and higher productivity - all lead to better financial results. A report from McKinsey also shows that more diverse companies perform better financially. Imagine the power of combining compassion and diversity together!

4. Compassion leads to more compassion. The best part about compassion? The more we experience it in the workplace, the more likely we are to pass it on to others. As compassion spirals build in our organizations, the benefits perpetuate.

Are you part of a compassionate organization? Join me on social media to let me know how compassion benefits your company!

© 2017, Susan McCuistion