At work this week we had a discussion on kindness. How does kindness affect the work place and what are examples of how we can be kinder to each other. That sort of thing.
Immediately someone spoke up with a story of how she saved the day for a lady. I immediately knew this was going to turn into a pissing contest of wonderful things we’ve done, pat me on the back for my awesomeness. Of course, I am right. The next person, brag brag brag. I knew my patience would not extend to an hour of one-upping of good deeds.
So I went next and told the story of my boss showing immense kindness and empathy for his very new employee who stayed up all night because her dad was in the ER. It was day five on the new job and I knew I would be fired. Days six and seven were similar and my boss told me to focus on family, do not worry about the job and not to worry about making the time up. Focus my energy on my family.
His response provided such comfort and peace to my parents, who felt guilty that their situation was pulling me away from my job and potentially have major affects on my keeping this job. My boss protected me so I could focus on what was going on with my parents.
These are the stories I wanted to hear. We can all brag about our nice moves but I would rather hear how someone else’s kindness made you feel.
