[ 1 ] Gallup, State of the Global
Workplace (2017).
[ 3 ] Liz Mineo, “Good Genes
Are Nice, But Joy is Better,”
Harvard Gazette
(April 11, 2017).
Organizations are so focused on rewarding productivity
and output; many have become obsessed with profit
over people. Furthermore, with a rise in remote working
and virtual teamwork, our reliance on technology to
communicate means that the “human moment” at work
is becoming lost. Opportunities to connect authentically
with our colleagues and care for one another at a
basic human level are decreasing, which means we
know our colleagues only superficially and the quality
of our networks is weakened.
In an attempt to seek out human connection, people
are spending more time at work than they do at home.
Never have we needed our colleagues so much, yet
never have we felt so isolated, with one in six of us
feeling we have no one to talk to at work about the
things that worry us. 1
There is growing evidence that kindness and
positive relationships lie at the heart of our wellbeing,
engagement, and performance at work. 2 Compassion
is fast becoming a business imperative, since it is not
money or career success that make people happy. It is
the relationships we have with friends, colleagues, and
loved ones that are the key to life satisfaction. 3 Close
social bonds help us to cope with life’s ups and downs,
they slow down our mental and physical decline, and
are better predictors of life expectancy and happiness
than class, IQ, and genes combined. 4
In our AI-driven future of work, it is those things
that make us inherently human that we need to focus on
more than ever. Compassion is not only a core human
value, it is a key leadership skill for the 21st century.
Compassion is the most important conduit of influence
at work.
In these challenging and unprecedented times, Hult
has a crucial role to develop compassionate leaders
who can foster kindness, care, and understanding for
one another as humankind. If we are able to develop
and foster compassion both for ourselves and others,
this presents a unique opportunity to revive a much-
disenchanted workforce. Leading with compassion is
an organizational imperative; where suffering is hidden
stress-related absence is growing, and career burnout
is a recognized phenomenon. By developing leaders to
foster compassion at work, we can help to build healthier,
happier, and more-engaged work environments.
Dr. Amy Bradley (née Armstrong) is a Hult professor based at the
Ashridge Executive Education campus where she runs leadership
programs for individuals, teams, and organizations across the
world. Amy runs a Hult undergraduate summer elective entitled
Compassion, Human Suffering, and the Ethics of Care, which has
been described as “life changing” by its participants. In its most
recent iteration, this course received a top score of five out of five
in student evaluations.
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Faculty
[ 2 ] Ann Pace, “Unleashing
Positivity in the Workplace,”
T&D 64, no. 1 (January
2010): 41–44.
[ 4 ] ibid.
Accelerate your
leadership
Dr. Bradley runs leadership
courses at Ashridge and is
a member of the facilitation
team on the highly
experiential Open Program,
Leading on the Edge. Visit
hult.edu/executive-education
to register at a reduced
rate for Open Programs
at Ashridge Executive
Education.
Dr. Bradley’s book, The Human Moment
(LID Publishing, 2020), argues that organizations
must find ways of becoming more compassionate
in an age where our work is increasingly
dehumanized. Order on Amazon now.
Faculty
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