Somehow this January I will begin my last semester of grad school. I’ve always been interested in workplace culture; specifically, how do we create and sustain happy workplaces? When I discovered that the University of Hartford has one of the top Organizational Psychology graduate programs in the country, I took a risk and applied. Gratefully, I was accepted into the program, and I’ve been working towards my master’s for the last year-and-a-half.

I’ve learned so much about work motivation, the dangers of stress, how to run an effective hiring process, the vital importance of providing psychological safety in the workplace, and so much more.

I just recently started to fully realize the connection between two things I am passionate about: kindness and workplace culture. A few months ago, I started an Office Kindness Crew where I work, and it has been such a success. This experience really hits home for me that if we want to change workplace culture for the better, it has to be grassroots. The change must be employee-led.

Our Office Kindness Crew was started by co-workers and is led by co-workers. It is not an “official” group. All our activities are done on work breaks. This gives us the flexibility to make our ideas a reality without having to constantly seek approval. Our Executive Director loves what we do, and we are so lucky to have him because he is a big supporter of healthy workplace culture, but our work is done by us, for our fellow co-workers.

This bottom-up approach feels more genuine and sustainable than a top-down approach. Our employees are bought into the Office Kindness Crew because *they* come up with the ideas and help make things happen. We’re creating magic, and it’s a beautiful, amazing thing to be part of.

If you want to make a difference in your workplace, consider starting something like this. Change can start with YOU! Follow our new Office Kindness Crew Instagram for ideas and inspiration!

Here’s to better workplace culture. May we know them. May we be them. May we create them!