Diversity consultancy launch 100 Days of Kindness

Employment diversity consultancy and recruiter Equal Approach have launched their 100 Days of Kindness campaign to encourage organisations to be more inclusive.

Running from now until Friday 11 November 2016, leading up to Anti Bullying Week 14–18 November, 100 Days of Kindness aims to promote inclusion and well-being at work, which have been shown to positively impact on productivity, motivation, creativity, collaboration and many other key elements of work performance.

It has had individuals sign up from organisations across the public, private and third sectors, including: SSE, Carillion, Remploy, Accenture, Network Rail, HMRC, NHS, Nationwide, BLP Law, Purple Space, Natural Resources Wales, Staples, Action for Children, Access, Guide Dogs for the Blind, and many more.

Happiness researcher Shawn Achor found that the number one reason for being happy was the quality of social connections, which scored more highly than wealth or health. The best way to improve employees’ social connections at work is to promote a culture of inclusion and this is the basis for the campaign.

Equal Approach CEO, Dawn Milman-Hurst, commented: “The 100 Days of Kindness campaign is an opportunity for individuals to take small steps to make their workplace more inclusive.  The purpose of the campaign is to promote inclusion in the workplace, with individuals carrying out one act of kindness every day to support this. This gives all involved a sense of togetherness and in turn, creates a more inclusive working environment, which has been shown to have a positive impact, increasing; productivity, motivation, creativity, collaboration and many other key elements of performance. We shouldn’t underestimate how seemingly simple acts of kindness can help make ourselves and our colleagues feel more included at work.”

Equal Approach states that the 100 Days of Kindness campaign is not about grand gestures, expensive gifts, or going above and beyond, but about taking small steps every day and thinking about how you can make your colleagues feel more included in the workplace, or make them feel better and happier at work.

Suggested examples of small steps one could take include:

·         Making a coffee for the individual in the team who is obviously under pressure.

·         Asking “how are you today?”, and actually listening and responding.

·         Opening a door for someone and smiling at them as you do so.

·         Pulling a chair out and gesturing to someone you wouldn’t normally sit next to in a meeting to join you.

·         A handwritten thank you note or post it on someone’s laptop to publicly recognise a job well done.