Benevolence at Work (B)
A-Z Series at Psychology@Work
That Time I Made an Intern Cry (Not My Proudest Moment) 😬
Let me share something I'm not particularly proud of: Early in my leadership career, I once responded to a team member's personal crisis with, "That's unfortunate. So, let me know when you can get back to working on that paper?" The look on their face still haunts me. I had unconsciously prioritized a project timeline over a human being in distress, and in that moment, I was everything I never wanted to become in a leader.
You see, I had convinced myself that professional meant detached. That caring too much would somehow compromise my authority or effectiveness. (Spoiler alert: I was spectacularly wrong.)
Sound familiar? Maybe you've caught yourself holding back compassion at work, worried about crossing some invisible line between professional and personal. Or perhaps you've swung to the other extreme, becoming so emotionally invested in your team that you're burning out from the weight of everyone else's problems.
Q. How can you show benevolence at work?
Benevolence: Not Just a Fancy Word for "Being Nice" ⚡
The Oxford dictionary defines "benevolence" as the quality of being kind, caring, and well-meaning. But in my research on workplace dynamics, I've found it's so much more nuanced than just "being nice." It's a fundamental building block of trust that directly impacts everything from team performance to innovation to retention.
To quote the cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead: "Never believe that a few caring people can't change the world. For, indeed, that's all who ever have."
But what does benevolence actually look like in action? It's not just bringing cookies to meetings (though, honestly, that never hurts). Genuine workplace benevolence manifests when you:
Show empathy, sympathy, and compassion toward others in distress (rather than checking your watch while they're mid-crisis)
Provide concrete support and resources to help others overcome obstacles (beyond the obligatory "let me know if you need anything")
Show genuine curiosity about the needs and wants of others (which means actually listening, not just waiting for your turn to speak)
Proactively adapt and accommodate others' circumstances (instead of making them beg for flexibility)
Demonstrate genuine respect for others' viewpoints and feelings (even when—especially when—they differ from yours)
Guide to Becoming More Benevolent ⭐
Ready to inject more genuine caring into your leadership style? Here are approaches that transformed my own journey from "technically competent but emotionally unavailable" to "human-centered leader":
🌟 The Safe Space Creator
As a team leader, consciously create environments where people can share their real struggles without fear of judgment or career repercussions.
I learned this lesson after witnessing a senior executive share a personal mental health challenge during a team meeting. The psychological floodgates opened—suddenly everyone felt permission to bring their whole selves to work. Productivity didn't drop; it soared. Why? Because people weren't wasting energy pretending to be fine anymore.
🌟 The Validation Virtuoso
Here's a mindset shift that changed everything for me: You don't need to solve every problem to show you care. Sometimes the most benevolent act is simply acknowledging the validity of someone's experience.
Try this: "That sounds incredibly frustrating. I can see why you'd feel that way." Notice there's no promise to fix anything—just genuine recognition of their reality. (Pro tip: This works wonders with romantic partners too. You're welcome!)
🌟 The Beyond-the-Job Beacon
Show up visibly during difficult times. Be accessible. Provide emotional support, validation, and recognition.
I once canceled a non-urgent client meeting to sit with a team member who'd received devastating personal news. Did it impact my schedule? Yes. Did it matter in the grand scheme of things? Not even slightly. What mattered was demonstrating that humans always trump tasks in my value system.
The Caring Conundrum: Too Much or Too Little? 🤔
Here's the tricky part that nobody talks about: "caring burnout" is absolutely real. As leaders, we often swing between being professionally detached (caring too little) or personally over-attached (caring too much).
If you find yourself emotionally detached from your team, ask yourself some uncomfortable questions:
What am I afraid might happen if I connect more deeply?
Am I protecting myself from potential vulnerability?
What past experience taught me to keep emotional distance at work?
Conversely, if you're the leader who's always taking on everyone's problems as your own:
What personal need is this filling for me?
Am I trying to compensate for gaps in the organizational culture?
Have I created appropriate boundaries for sustainable caring?
A Final Confession (Because Growth Never Stops...)
Just last month, I caught myself slipping back into old patterns during a high-pressure project launch. A team member shared concerns about their workload, and I felt that familiar urge to say, "That's tough, but we have deadlines."
Instead, I paused, took a breath, and asked, "What would help make this more manageable for you right now?" The solution we developed together actually improved our approach and prevented a potential quality issue.
The truth is, benevolence isn't just some nice-to-have soft skill. It's a business imperative in a world where talent can choose to work anywhere. People don't leave companies; they leave leaders who fail to see and value their humanity.
To care is to be human. And in my experience, the most effective workplaces are those that celebrate rather than suppress our humanity.
PODCAST on this article: https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/d1ce1a57-5b77-446b-9a4a-99cfcb964c60/audio
Dr. Ruchi Sinha studies workplace dynamics and leadership behaviors at the intersection of psychology, organizational behavior, and human-centered management. Her research focuses on building high-trust environments that promote both wellbeing and performance.