How does the culture of compassion lead to innovation in uncertain times

The culture of compassion in my perspective!

Well in simple terms the culture of compassion is nothing but showing concern and being sympathetic towards misfortunes and suffering of others. Culture of compassion is strengthened by our community connections. Practicing self-compassion not only builds higher levels of emotional intelligence but also makes you a better human being.

Creating a culture of self-compassion at a workplace is the need of the hour! 

Here's why-

Well, who doesn't like being around people who practice self-compassion? 

Your workplace plays a major role in determining your behavior and your perseverance towards things. A toxic environment at the workplace not only hampers your mental health but also reduces your creativity, compassion, and emotional well-being.

However, a culture of compassion at a workplace creates an environment of care, empathy, and love.

Did you know that a culture of compassion can also result in impeccable innovations?

Well, according to me, creating a culture of compassion at your office can be one of the best methods to understand your employee’s needs, preferences, and health issues too. It supports employee efforts to manage stress and workload. 

Brains work the best when in peace and sanity. Great leaders, scientists, authors that introduced great innovations in the world practiced the culture of compassion and became inspirations for millions of people.

Innovation according to me is the actions required in creating new ideas, processes, or products that lead to positive effective change. Innovation is one step ahead of inventions as it requires the implementation of the inventive act. Innovation in simple terms implies a value system that works towards deriving a positive outcome from the inventive act. Culture of compassion helps you to have a positive approach towards life that helps in the creation of new ideas which when implemented results in a unique outcome.

Benefits of practicing compassion at your workplace-

• Helps people to overcome isolation, anxiety issues, feeling of extreme nervousness, etc.

• Promotes togetherness and brotherhood

• It makes the employee feel "wanted in the organization" and they feel important.

• This promotes efficiency in working and in turn increases productivity.

• Creates a positive mindset & a peaceful working environment.

Here's how you can build a culture of compassion at your workplace, especially during the pandemic-

We just discussed how important it is to build a culture of compassion at your workplace, but the major question that arises is how to build a culture of compassion. Is it that easy or should we follow some steps to implement compassion at our workplace? 

Well, it is as easy as it sounds! You just need to have a positive approach and a caring attitude towards your team and employees. Talking about the present scenario, the pandemic has changed so much in the professional world. People switched to the "work from home" concept that turned out to be even more hectic and stressful. People were suffering from illness and working at the same time.  And so practicing compassion was the need of an hour! 

You can just follow a few simple norms to build a culture of compassion at your office be it offline or online, and you will notice remarkable changes in the working environment and the productivity of your team.

Let's discuss these steps-

Initiate healthy and informal conversations -

While people consider offices to have a formal atmosphere it is equally important to have a healthy and informal flow of conversations between the top management and the employees. This enables the team to express their true emotions in front of the top management or subordinates. The main step to initiate healthy communications between the team is to not ignore suffering. 

You should keep a check on your employee's mental and physical health. A person might go through various issues in his life but would never express them. In such a situation it is your responsibility to introspect and understand what is the one thing that is concerning your employee. An individual might go through various problems that he might not express at the workplace, including mental health disorders, financial crisis, depression, relationship problems, etc. So if you feel any of your team members are feeling extremely sad or isolated, take out time and talk to them as a friend and not as a colleague or boss. Appreciate their efforts instead of focusing on what they are unable to do. 

Be a compassionate leader -

If you become a compassionate leader others will take inspiration from you and practice the same. 

Conduct social meetings -

While official meetings are quite common at the workplace, social meetings are rare. But to understand your employee's mental condition and what they are going through in their personal life, it is important to conduct social meetings where they can freely express their emotions and problems. In turn, they can help each other overcome those obstacles that are bothering them.

Does the culture of compassion lead to innovation? 

A big yes! 

Innovation occurs from brilliant minds! And who has a brilliant mind? Everyone! Yes, the answer is that everyone has a brilliant mind. You just need to understand your capabilities & work towards achieving your goals. 

Compassion helps you to understand the human mind and gives birth to empathy and the power to understand suffering. When you are kind to people you receive love and kindness in return. Judging a person's predicament in the absence of compassion amounts to little more than judgment. Compassion creates a positive mindset that helps you to brainstorm ideas that result in innovation!