How to Celebrate World Kindness Day at Work

Showing kindness and appreciation in the workplace is something that every good business should strive for. From rewarding and recognising outstanding team members to committing random acts of kindness that put smiles on your colleagues' faces, a touch of warmth in the workplace can go a long way. While it’s important to practise these qualities in the workplace year-round, having an entire day dedicated to showing kindness is a powerful and useful reminder.

World Kindness Day takes place on the 13th of November each year, and presents the perfect opportunity to make positivity a priority in your workplace. From activities and training days to rewards and more, we’re running through some of the most effective ways to celebrate World Kindness Day 2024 at work.

Reach out to our expert team today, and learn how Red Letter Days Corporate can help to boost levels of happiness and employee satisfaction in your team.

What and When is World Kindness Day?

World Kindness Day is an internationally-observed celebration of positivity, community and interpersonal bonding. It takes place each year on the 13th of November, and is participated in by workplaces, charitable organisations and communities across the globe. First introduced by the World Kindness Movement in 1998, World Kindness Day is an important celebration of generosity and good will that’s become increasingly popular in the corporate world.

While many of us view kindness as a basic requirement that doesn’t require too much dedicated thought, you may be surprised at just how beneficial some simple acts of kindness can be. According to the UK Mental Health Foundation’s Kindness Matters Guide, practising compassion and kindness in our daily lives can lead to an array of powerful benefits, from reducing stress to improving our holistic well-being and even helping us to live longer.

Why Celebrate World Kindness Day in the Workplace?

We all know the importance of showing and receiving kindness in our daily lives, but this can unfortunately become less of a focus when it comes to the workplace. Business performance may be experiencing a rough patch, or a particularly busy period may be contributing to levels of employee stress. When challenges are presented in our professional lives, it’s often easy to let our focus on kindness fall by the wayside.

However, research has repeatedly proven the benefits that a considered focus on kindness can have on business performance and general workplace morale. One study of employees from a range of sectors found that health care expenditure was 46% higher in workplaces where employees reported high levels of stress. This occupational stress also leads to significantly increased staff turnover rates, while organisations which prioritise kindness and fairness enjoy uplifts in productivity, employee satisfaction, well-being and health outcomes.

5 World Kindness Day Activities that Create Meaningful Workplace Benefits

The impact of a heightened focus on workplace kindness is clear, but what specific actions will allow your business to reap the benefits? From broad initiatives to simple, everyday gestures — here are 5 effective ways to promote and foster kindness in your workplace, throughout World Kindness Day and beyond.

1. Organise Kindness Challenges

While World Kindness Day activities generally elicit a positive response and enthusiastic participation from employees, it can be difficult to ensure that everyone gets involved. The benefits of promoting kindness at work are heightened when more people take part, so it’s important to ensure that you’re doing everything in your power to encourage maximum engagement. One way to do this is by framing your World Kindness Day activities as fun challenges.

This could be as simple as challenging your employees to perform one small act of kindness each day throughout the week of World Kindness Day, whether that’s buying a colleague’s coffee or writing a personalised thank-you note. Create an online forum or a physical noticeboard where staff can share their experiences from the week, and organise a vote on who rose to the kindness challenge most effectively.

2. Host a Kindness Workshop

The idea of hosting a seminar or study group on World Kindness Day might sound strange at first, but you may be surprised at just how positive and effective it can be. Kindness workshops have become an increasingly popular avenue for businesses seeking to optimise their workplace culture, and can result in some impressive performance uplifts across key organisational metrics.

There are many UK organisations which specialise in kindness workshops and webinar training, and employing their expertise for World Kindness Day is a great way to boost morale while giving your team a break from their usual workplace routines. The results speak for themselves, with one study finding that 74.8% of participants in a kindness workshop reported it was very likely that they would implement kindness strategies at work as a result.

3. Create a Culture of Kindness

A meaningful commitment to workplace positivity doesn’t stop at World Kindness Day, so it’s important to ensure that your chosen activities establish some lasting changes. A thriving company culture isn’t something that can be achieved overnight, but World Kindness Day presents the perfect opportunity to start putting some positive developments in progress.

You could make some positive additions to your workplace décor by hanging kindness-themed artwork on the walls. Or, create a positivity wall of post-it notes where employees can write their favourite affirmations and kindness-themed quotes. Whatever new initiatives you launch on World Kindness Day, the key is to ensure that they are embraced as ongoing fixtures in your business’ organisational culture.

4. Arrange a Team Building Day

Successfully promoting kindness in the workplace starts with forging strong relationships between your employees. And when it comes to boosting levels of cooperation, team spirit and overall workplace morale — few activities prove as fruitful as team building days. Approximately 82% of UK employees desire more regular team building events at work, so why not celebrate World Kindness Day with a memorable activity that you know your staff will enjoy?

Whether you want to give your employees the adventure of a lifetime or simply gather everyone for a nourishing night of food and drink, we offer a vast range of experience gift vouchers that are guaranteed to bond your team together. They’re also easy to organise at any time of year, with endless indoor and outdoor team building activities to choose from.

5. Reward & Recognise Your Staff

The best World Kindness Day Activities for the workplace communicate an authentic message of appreciation and care. Recognising staff for their loyalty and accomplishments is essential to the success of any business, and shows a level of genuine gratitude that is highly valued in today’s professional landscape. Employees who feel unappreciated at work tend to be absent more frequently, and are twice as likely to leave their positions within the next year.

To ensure that your company retains top talent and celebrates World Kindness Day in a beneficial way, why not treat your staff to an attractive reward that will make all their hard work feel worthwhile? An exciting experience gift voucher is guaranteed to boost levels of employee satisfaction, and our endless range of options ensure that every individual is catered for.

Find Perfect Workplace Activities for World Kindness Day with Red Letter Days Corporate

World Kindness Day only comes once a year, but a powerful culture of warmth and cooperation is something that companies should work towards every day. Whether you’re looking to improve your employee experience, satisfaction or overall team morale — celebrating World Kindness Day with meaningful workplace activities can have significant positive impacts on your business as a whole.

From kindness workshops, challenges and cultural initiatives to powerful team building days and rewarding experience gifts — there are endless ways to promote kindness at work while letting employees know that you care. Get in touch today to find out how Red Letter Days Corporate can engage your staff and help your business to thrive during World Kindness Day and beyond.