How to Promote Compassion at Work

Most of us would agree that we need more compassion to help reduce human suffering in the world, but few would work to promote compassion where we spend most of our time—the workplace.

Research shows that compassionate workplaces increase employee satisfaction and loyalty. An employee who is being cared for at work is more likely to experience positive emotions, which in turn helps promote positive working relationships, increase collaboration, and improve relationships with customers. Stress can be reduced through training compassion between individuals; it may also affect longevity. All of this points to the need to increase the role of compassion in work and organizations.

But how can we increase compassion in the workplace? Although research indicates that compassion is a trainable skill, current compassion training programs often involve significant investments of time and energy. This makes it inaccessible to most working Americans, and compassion may seem superfluous to some people; The word "compassion" conjures up more images of Mother Teresa caring for the poor than the average person trying to make a living.

In the meantime, some researchers want to make compassion training more relevant and attractive to those in a position to share its benefits. Researchers Dan Martin of California State University and Yotam Heineberg of Palo Alto University, on their visit to Stanford's Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education, created a promising training program called dual compassion development (CDD). They hoped this program would help make a difference in the workplace.

Work to promote compassion in the workplace:

The Dual Compassion Development Program is a combination of compassion training and technology. Two people meet online on Skype for an hour a week for eight weeks to conduct structured discussions on topics drawn from the science of personal and social safety, such as mindfulness meditation, emotional knowledge, and the importance of having a growth mindset.

The approach, which draws in large part on the work of researcher Paul Gilbert, helps people understand how they typically respond to stress and threat in social and work situations and then trains them to respond in more appropriate ways using tools such as self-soothing, attentive listening, and compassion.

Martin and Heinberg hope that by using an educational rather than therapeutic approach, they will not have to rely on expert compassion coaches, which many programs currently do. “There are not enough experts out there to educate everyone who can benefit from compassion training,” Heinberg says. “We wanted to create an evidence-based program similar to personal training but also make it more widely available."

Heinberg suggests that a dual compassion development program may be more beneficial to companies than other compassion-based training programs. This is because it is convenient and requires only a relatively short commitment. In addition, it does not rely on the meditation-based training that is often part of compassion programs.

Instead, the program's focus is on helping people improve the quality of their social interactions in the workplace, which is something any leader can understand.

The fact that participants are exploring these ideas with another person helps make the program more than just a self-help exercise. This allows participants to feel connected in a safe learning environment.

Results demonstrated by encouraging compassion:

So far, the program looks promising. When researchers tested it on a sample of business students on a California State University (CSU) campus, they found several key areas for improvement. At the end of the course, the students had increased compassion, self-happiness, and leadership skills, among other benefits. Despite the fact that the students didn't exactly volunteer, they were assigned to participate in a dual compassion development program with another trainee selected by trainer Dan Martin. By the end of the program, 94% of them were satisfied with the training and would recommend it to a friend.

Samantha Serna, one of the students in the experimental group, admits that she wasn't very happy at first with the idea of  partnering with a stranger to talk about personal issues.

As Samantha said, "As a business student, you may hesitate to show your compassion and vulnerability. You were taught to be strong and not show any emotions."

To make matters worse, her partner turned out to be someone she had no interest in knowing, but after continuing to practice for a few weeks and learning about emotional connection, her attitude began to change. She realized that she and her partner had a lot in common. Both have anger issues and get frustrated easily, and both can become withdrawn and hold grudges. She now admits that they became good friends, continuing to help each other through difficult times and helping each other whenever they needed to.

“Most of the students, like Serna, were less enthusiastic about participating in the program at first,” Heinberg admits. "They complained constantly," he says, "and they didn't see that the program mattered to them at all."

But over time, they became more and more integrated into the program. "Many of the trainees were saying that it gave them a different perspective on how to act, and it proved to be a meaningful process," says Heinberg.

Although the students may not have accepted the program at first, many persisted because of its dual model. When someone else depends on you, it helps encourage that alignment. Also, as the program progressed, participants created bonds based on personal stories and values.

"When we use values ​​like this, people align with their common humanity," says Heinberg.

Heinberg credits research conducted at Stanford University with self-affirmation theory in this program. Participants are asked to reflect on their values ​​and dreams, and to share their success stories, focusing on how these people have suffered in some way. But if they were able to overcome this suffering and learn to calm themselves, analyzing the success stories gives the participants an opportunity to use this information in other situations, such as when they are under pressure or disagree with a colleague.

The impact of compassion in personal life:

Serna found that the program improved her relationship with her program partner as well as her relationships with others. Even her fiancé noticed the change in her.

“I used to believe that I should do wrong to others when they do me wrong, but I learned from the show that it doesn't work that way; I don't have to take this position,” Serna says.

In addition to making a new friend and gaining important insight into herself, following the program also improved her physical health.

"Before the program, I was in a very bad mood; I would get angry a lot, and because I suffer from epilepsy, I used to have frequent seizures, but after the program, my stress level dropped a lot," Serna says.

Serna's enthusiasm for the program led her to consider changing her field of study to organizational psychology, and she believes this kind of information should be available to more people in more places.

Heinberg and Martin agree and have plans to offer the dual compassion development program to several organizations, including a group of hospitals that have expressed interest in training compassion in their staff. The researchers plan to evaluate their model and make improvements over time so that it is more effective for the largest number of people.