Random Acts of Kindness Week comes each February. For much of the world, February weather sucks. Just looking out of the window as I write this is a reminder. It’s been gray and raining endlessly in Nashville over the past few days. Perhaps this is why Random Acts of Kindness was created during this dreary month. Let’s brighten it up, shall we?

The following is a list of twenty-five ideas you can use at work to be nice to your colleagues and to yourself. I encourage you to print this list and pin it above your desk or stick it on the wall in your kitchen to share the ideas. Even though you are encouraged to deliver random acts of kindness during the official week, there is nothing stopping you from doing so during the fifty-one other weeks of the year.

Kindness releases feel-good hormones

As Maile Proctor writes, “kindness releases feel-good hormones. Have you ever noticed that when you do something nice for someone else, it makes you feel better too? This isn’t just something that happens randomly—it has to do with the pleasure centers in your brain.”

She continues, “Doing nice things for others boosts your serotonin, the neurotransmitter responsible for feelings of satisfaction and well-being. Like exercise, altruism also releases endorphins, a phenomenon known as a “helper’s high.”

25 Tips for Being Nice at Work

1. Buy a coffee, grab creamers and sugar, and deliver them to the first person you see at work. This could be a custodian, receptionist, security person, colleague, stranger. 

2. Hold the door open for someone. 

3. Give someone a compliment for the good work they do. Or the cool shoes they are wearing. 

4. Smile.

5. Take a private bathroom break to practice a short meditation. I’m a fan of Sam Harris’s Waking Up app. 

6. Send a positive text, Slack, or instant message to a colleague. 

7. As companies grow it is common not to recognize everybody. Talk to a colleague you don’t know. Invite them with you for lunch.

8. Hold the elevator door open for someone. Say hello to your fellow passenger.

9. Tape two dollars to the vending machine. 

10. Tidy the kitchen. Clean out the microwave. Empty the fridge. 

11. Be a hero. Make a pot of coffee.

12. Surprise your team by bringing donuts or baking something special.

13. Write a LinkedIn recommendation. Connect your LinkedIn connections.

14. Choose to forgive and accept people for who they are.

15. Write a list of what you are thankful for.

16. Leave a huge tip for a barista or a server.

17. Pay the toll or bus fare for the person behind you. 

18. Put your phone away when you are around other people. 

19. Write a complimentary LinkedIn post about a colleague and tag them.

20. Work without headphones. Raise your head from your computer and smile at each person who walks by. Consider your resting face.

21. Compliment a colleague to your manager. Write them an email about how awesome the person is.

22. Interject a kind comment when people are gossiping.

23. Give a colleague a copy of a book that impacted you.

24. Write a list of all the things you enjoy about your work.

25. Listen intently as someone is speaking to you. Use the L.I.S.T.E.N. acronym (VIDEO).

Your Turn…

Download this as a PDF to print and share with your colleagues to brighten up the day.

Photo by Sandrachile on Unsplash.

... if you're a jerk.

I’ve been thinking a lot about greatness lately. The next greatest writer hasn’t been discovered yet. We haven’t heard about the next greatest musician. The greats get known by the people they surround themselves with. When you surround yourself with greatness the greatness spreads. 

There are greats out there who will never be known beyond their own small circle and bedroom walls. It’s kindness that leads you to success. It's kindness that spreads greatness.

People don’t want to work with jerks. While the jerks may find some success, their success will fade as their names get affixed to sentences like, “What ever happened to __________?” or “Oh ya, I remember _______________ who had that song. I heard he was a jerk.”

I don’t believe it’s because they run out of new songs or opportunities to perform. The well dries up because their name sours when heard within their industry - because they treated people poorly. Because they became a jerk. 

Think of your own life. The people who are good tend to stick around and become successful. You remember the jerks but you have little regard or care for them. It’s not right to hold grudges but we do. It’s better to forgive and move on from the jerks. Kill em with kindness, as they say.

And so the greats are typically the kind. They are the ones who reflect upon their careers and the people who raised them to where they are today. The greats are the mentors who are willing to help the newbies. The greats are the ones who share what they have learned. The greats treat everyone equally regardless of their status or job titles.

The best in the world may never be discovered because of the way they treat people. Their name can be tarnished within a community or an industry forever. We may never know the greatest writer, actor, chef, doctor...

I was reminded of this when working at a music festival recently. I spent a considerable amount of time with one of the organizers who confided in me about certain artists who would never be invited back. They explained how certain artists are no longer working because they are known within the industry as jerks.

Would you want to do business with a jerk? Would you hire a jerk? 

And if you are seeking greatness…it’s wise to remember this. Treat them with kindness because kindness spreads. You may not be the best in the world at what you do, but your phone will ring before the jerk's. 

Image credit: welzen.org