63% of UK employees value kindness as a leadership trait – is it time to celebrate World Kindness Day in your workplace?

Recent research commissioned by Perkbox, Europe’s fastest growing employee experience platform, ahead of World Kindness Day, has found that 63% of UK employees value kindness as a leadership trait. Introduced in 1998 and taking place on November 13th each year, World Kindness Day is a day for the celebration of kindness in society and day to day life. Individual acts of kindness are encouraged on this day, annually.

The research, which polled 2,000 employed UK adults, has found that one in three employees feel this day should be celebrated. Despite this, almost half of those surveyed said they hadn’t heard of this day before. It appears it could be a lack of awareness that is preventing many UK businesses and employees from participating.

When asked what the kindest thing a co-worker has ever done for us as employees, 35% of those surveyed stated it was being ‘provided with support when experiencing personal problems’. This was followed by receiving a ‘thank you gesture’ such as a note or present, chosen by 30% of those polled. In third place was being ‘made a cup of tea’, which was chosen by 27% of employees.

Meanwhile, when it came to career growth. Rather surprisingly, peer-to-peer support from colleagues in the same team ranked ahead of managers. ‘A colleague in my team’ was chosen by a huge 39% of people whilst ‘my manager’ – was chosen by 29% of employees. A  ‘mentor outside my organisation’ ranked in third place and was chosen by 17% of respondents.

Madlena Pozlevic, Employee Experience Lead at Perkbox says: “With November being known as a grey and dreary month, there is no better time to spread some kindness and boost morale amongst your employees. Getting involved in World Kindness Day as a business doesn’t have to be a costly exercise and – as you can see from the research above – could involve anything as simple as  sending out a thank you email or making your colleagues a cup of coffee. Every little bit helps, just make sure you join us in celebrating!”

About Perkbox

Perkbox is a platform that provides a unique employee experience, enriching the personal and working life of employees. It offers a suite of products including a platform with access to best in class Perks, Perkbox Medical,Perkbox Recognition and Perkbox Insights. It serves companies of all sizes from SMEs to large companies such as Whole Foods,Nando’s, Caffe Nero and Levi Strauss & Co. Headquartered in London, with offices in Sheffield and Paris, Perkbox has raised over £11.0 million in funding from the leading European venture capital firm Draper Esprit.