The Enormous Mental and Physical Benefits of Generosity
One way to be generous is, of course, with your money. Other ways of being generous are with your time, attention, and support, such as by mentoring employees, coaching colleagues, or helping a coworker diagnose a problem.
A third meaning of generosity has to do with how you interpret the behavior of others. From the teachings of family therapist Virginia Satir, I came to appreciate the notion of applying a generous interpretation. That is, if someone says or does something that doesn’t make sense to you or is other than you would expect, try to be more forgiving of the person’s behavior. Instead of assuming the worst about the person’s actions or attitude, give the person the benefit of the doubt, at least initially. Often, there’s a perfectly good explanation why the person spoke or acted as he did.
Generosity, it turns out, has been the subject of considerable research, such as the ongoing generosity project at the University of Notre Dame, which brings together researchers from disciplines spanning the social sciences to explore what motivates generous behavior. Among the many projects that are part of this research are The Causes, Manifestations and Consequences of Generosity; The Neural Circuitry Underlying Altruistic Behavior; The Social Contagion of Generosity; and The Causes and Effects of Workplace Generosity.
But the study of generosity is not anything new. It’s been going on for decades, and research consistently suggests that generosity can improve our mental and physical health and promote longevity. The more directly we see our personal efforts impact others, the more we gain from the experience of giving.
Furthermore, doing good for others has been shown to decrease anxiety, reduce depression, relieve stress, and enhance well-being. One possible explanation for these health benefits is that generosity triggers the release of oxytocin, a brain chemical that helps to decrease inflammation, improve wound healing, and decrease blood pressure, among others things. In fact, oxytocin has been described as the most amazing molecule in the world.
The win-win benefit of generosity makes the idea in this article on PsychCentral especially compelling: Instead of (or in addition to) making likely-to-be-broken New Year’s resolutions, let’s do something simpler and more doable, such as resolving to be a little more generous every day. As this article says, “Instead of trying to stop an old habit, why not try on a new one? Promise yourself that you will be a little more open-hearted and open-handed this year.” What a great idea!
What are some ways you could try to be more generous in the workplace? Tell us your ideas in the comments.
