11 Small Acts of Workplace Kindness That Mattered More Than a Huge Bonus

• The Monday after I miscarried, I went back to work. No one knew.
  Later, my boss called me in about a mistake. She said, “If you’re here, be present, or leave.” I was silent.
  2 weeks later, she handed me an envelope. When I opened it, my heart dropped. Inside was a condolence card where she had written, “I know this is hard, take some time off work. Your job will be here for you.”
  Turns out, she had to approve my medical insurance and found out about the miscarriage. She apologized for pressurising me and gave me a couple of days off. I didn’t realize how much I needed that!

• I transferred stores from a town of 5,000 to a city of 500,000 and was basically heartbroken by how guarded everyone was. I started buying people little treats on hard days or buying them food if they were a little short that week.
  It took a little over 6 months for people to realize I didn’t have ulterior motives. I’m also a big hugger and when I would ask people if I could give them a hug they would ask if I was okay.
  Now so many of my coworkers will randomly bring me treats or for each other. Or they’ll bake cookies for the whole store! I’m not gonna take credit for all of it, but I can’t help but feel like my kindness is spreading and growing into a whole garden of kindness!!

• I was a sales coordinator at a hotel. Got cancer, and the whole sales team and exec team decorated my desk and threw me a party when I had to leave for surgery/treatment. Not just generic stuff HR had... like, I’m a whimsical lady, and they made it look like a fairy lived there.
  Later found out even the GM was up in a chair hanging these sparkly bubble streamers. I was lucky to work with really amazing people.

• I was very close to quitting my job last year. Not because anything dramatic happened. I just felt invisible. I was doing a lot of work behind the scenes, picking up slack, making sure things didn’t fall apart, but none of it was visible. No feedback, no recognition, nothing.
  I had my resignation letter open on my laptop for three days. I kept editing it, trying to find the right tone. Then we had this team-wide meeting about a project that had just wrapped. Leadership was there, people were presenting outcomes, the usual.
  Near the end, my manager casually said, “Also, a lot of this worked because of her. She kept things running when we were stuck.” I closed my resignation draft later that day. I didn’t stay forever but I stayed another year. And that one moment is still the reason why.

• 30+ yrs ago my ex called me at work (rows of cubicles) to tell me he wasn’t sending my child support or the extra money he promised for warm clothing since the weather had turned cold unexpectedly.
  My coworkers overheard, collected money amongst each other and went shopping on their lunch for a coat, hat, mittens, sweat suits and socks for my 1-yr-old son. Openly sobbed at their kindness.

• About a year ago, my dad was in the hospital for a couple of weeks. It was one of those situations where things weren’t critical, but they also weren’t stable, so you’re just constantly on edge.
  I didn’t tell anyone at work. I didn’t want the attention, and honestly, I didn’t want to look like I couldn’t handle things. So I just showed up, did my job, and tried to keep it together. But I was exhausted.
  One morning, I attended a team stand up and barely spoke. I thought I was doing a decent job pretending everything was normal. Around noon, I came back to my desk after a quick break and saw a coffee sitting there. Still warm without a note.
  A few minutes later, my teammate Slacked me: “Hey, I took the client calls this afternoon. You look like you need a lighter day.” That’s when it hit me—she’d noticed. Without me saying anything.
  I didn’t even know what to reply. I just said thanks. But that small thing, coffee and a few hours of breathing room, meant more than any formal “support” ever could.

• At the time, I recently went through a really rough break up. I was having a terrible day, trying to manage my emotions, but it was obvious that I wasn’t okay.
  My coworker left to go on lunch, and when she came back she gave me a small bouquet of flowers, and simply said, “Sometimes all you need are flowers.” This was apparently something her father did for her when he saw she was upset about something. It was incredibly sweet and thoughtful.

• I was on my period and having a really bad day. I’d snapped at our apprentice because he made a joke that normally would have been fine with me, he walked off and I texted him saying I was sorry. Thought I was going to get reported to HR.
  He came back and slid a double decker (my favourite chocolate bar) and a can of coke (I always got him one when I went to the shop) onto my desk with a note that said: ‘I have two sisters. I know you didn’t mean it. Still friends 🙂’ and went back to his desk. Damn that kid made me cry!

• I was going to grad school, taking classes after work. I wasn’t even going to mention it to anyone, but occasionally people at the office would ask what I was doing after work and would tell them I had to go to class.
  One day a nice coworker happened to ask how it was going, and I told her I had finally finished getting my MBA. A week or two later I got called into a meeting in a conference room, and it turns out my coworkers surprised me with a cake to congratulate me on my MBA.
  It was the nicest thing my coworkers have done for me, and I thanked them by immediately taking a higher paying job elsewhere. Kidding — I still work there 17 years later!

• My boyfriend was moving across the country for a job opportunity and I stayed behind to finish school. We had been living together and I moved back in with a parent.
  My coworker knew he was moving and that I was sad and took me out for a snowcone. She said it was because she wanted to try a new spot that just opened but it was because she was a nice person. I married the guy, quit the job, and the coworker is now a friend.

Small acts of workplace compassion rarely make headlines, but they change everything. Over time, those small choices add up, proving that kindness at work has a way of circling back when it’s needed most. After all, goodness never truly goes unrewarded.