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A study revealed that a simple act of kindness from an employer improves employees’ morale and mental health.
Penn State University researchers conducted a three-week experiment that involved 86 bus drivers on duty. The researchers focused on bus drivers because their job is physically and mentally exhausting. These drivers are prone to various health problems because of their stressful working environment, which includes inconsistent traffic conditions, irregular work shifts, and unscheduled meals. The sedentary nature and physical demands of driving also cause fatigue and other diseases.
For the experiment, the researchers observed what happened when employers added a serving of fresh fruit to the lunches of the drivers.
To determine the impact of the act on the drivers, three sets of surveys were sent out to the participants throughout the experiment. The surveys asked the participants to rate how often they felt down or hopeless. The first survey was conducted a week before the experiment started, and the second was given in the middle of the experiment. The participants answered the third survey a week after the experiment ended. Each driver’s perceived confidence and performance on the job were also measured using a self-efficacy scale.
Results revealed that the simple gesture of kindness in the form of adding fresh fruits to lunch meals decreased symptoms of depression and significantly increased work confidence among the bus drivers.
Previous studies have pointed out how work-related stress affects employees’ health and well-being. Stress affects the mental, physical, behavioral, and intellectual health of an employee.
The research thus recommends that employers show small acts of kindness to their employees as these can make a huge difference in their employees’ health and job performance.