Sero Boost

Hayley Blunden, Ph.D.: How a Scarcity of Kindness Affects Happiness | Sero Boost #57

Kindness and happiness are intricately linked, reinforcing the other in a virtuous cycle that can significantly impact personal and professional lives. This article explores these connections and provides practical insights on fostering kindness to enhance well-being.

Meet Hayley Blunden, Ph.D.

Hayley Blunden is an Assistant Professor of Management at the Kogod School of Business at American University. Her research focuses on how leaders can make challenging workplace interactions more productive.

In her research spanning the domains of advice, feedback, voice, and virtual work, she seeks to improve the outcomes of workplace interactions by examining them as situated, relational processes. Her research has been published in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, and Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, and has been featured by Harvard Business Review, The New York Times, The Economist, CNBC, and Forbes.

She earned a B.A. in Economics and Media Studies from the University of Virginia, an M.B.A. from Columbia Business School, and a Ph.D. from Harvard University.

About the episode

Kindness can be broadly understood as actions, expressions of empathy, and positive social interactions aimed at promoting the well-being of others. Dr. Hayley emphasizes that the core of kindness lies in the underlying motivation:

“Kindness is this positive motivation, the intention to promote the well-being of someone else. We can have the same act, and in one case we can consider it kindness, and in another, we may not consider it kindness.”

Dr. Hayley explains that being kind can help bring about the factors you know contribute to happiness, and being happy can help you be kinder. For example, complimenting someone can influence your experience of positive emotion, increase your social connection, and positively influence your happiness.

Conversely, a lack of kindness can trigger a negative cycle. It can decrease the likelihood of engaging in kind behaviors, further erosion of social connections, and cause a continued decline in overall well-being. This vicious cycle underscores the importance of cultivating kindness in our daily lives and work environments.

The workplace presents unique challenges and opportunities for fostering kindness. Dr. Hayley focuses on how leaders can make challenging workplace interactions more productive, particularly emphasizing kindness in professional settings.

Kindness in the workplace goes beyond mere pleasantries; it can significantly impact organizational success:

Improved team dynamics: Kind interactions foster stronger, more collaborative relationships among colleagues.
Enhanced problem-solving: Open, supportive environments encourage the sharing of ideas and constructive feedback.
Increased employee satisfaction and retention: Employees who feel valued and treated with kindness are more likely to remain committed to their organization.

To promote kindness in professional environments, schedule buffer time for more thoughtful, kind exchanges. Leaders should also model kind behavior, demonstrating compatibility with strong, effective leadership. A simple yet effective intervention Dr. Hayley suggested is reframing requests for “feedback” as requests for “advice.”

In conclusion

Dr. Haley’s insights underscore the profound impact that kindness can have on individual and collective happiness. Kindness and happiness mutually reinforce each other, creating positive cycles of well-being. Workplace kindness, particularly in the form of constructive pro-social input, can significantly enhance organizational success and employee satisfaction.

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