Work can be a great source of intellectual stimulation, pleasure, and fulfilment. The satisfaction of creating or contributing to something greater is one of the main motivations of life. Work can be a great source of intellectual stimulation, pleasure, and fulfilment. The satisfaction of creating or contributing to something greater is one of the main motivations of life. Moreover, the corporate environment offers many lessons for all of us, as do positive interactions with customers, partners, and co-workers.
The problem is that work often has a dark side: strenuous routines, excessive physical and mental efforts, conflicting relationships. When this happens, the first result is a drop in productivity. Often, this leads to frequent switching of jobs or simply unmotivated work. Or worse, some of these professionals end up getting sick and having serious complications.
For nearly three decades, I have worked in large multinational corporations. Today, I feel very fulfilled and comfortable with what I do, but it wasn’t always like that — not just for me, but for the people around me. I saw brilliant professionals working hard and performing their duties, but I didn’t always see a connection with the heart, with passion.
I believe that work should not be a reason for discomfort and anguish. Another path is possible. But how to go through it?
Finding a work model that would bring both professional fulfilment and peace of mind became central to my life. During this period of reflection, I began to dedicate myself to the practice of meditation, read several books and participated in an interesting retreat with Joe Dispenza, in Cancun, Mexico. With him, I learned to connect heart and brain through meditation and other transformative practices. I understood that meditation and mindfulness can have a positive impact on stress management, mental clarity, and emotional intelligence.
Through these meetings, I began to practice what I had learned at work. I noticed that there was a real change already in the first year, and successively over the following ten years. One idea leads to another, and I set out on a sequence of studies and experiences that transformed my view of work.
During the pandemic, I joined the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) at Stanford University. CCARE conducts scientific research to understand the benefits of compassion and how it can be cultivated and applied in various areas of life. Their programs, such as Applied Compassion Training (ACT), helped me to integrate compassionate practices into my personal and professional life.
Then, at the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Brazil, I studied how the principles of positive psychology can be useful to help increase employee engagement and reduce stress and burnout. This study journey — always alongside my corporate professional activities — raised many questions in my mind. Is it necessary to leave your heart at the office door and only pick it up at the end of the day?
As I became more concerned with this issue, I began to look more carefully at all those around me. And what I saw was a lot of suffering. People who achieve their professional goals and are creative, but at the same time live with family dramas, loneliness or other serious problems. Suffering and pain are obviously part of life, but what do we do to help the person who works at the next table?
We can all — and should — do something to help others alleviate this suffering. This realization completely changed my way of managing teams. The beacon of hope I found has a name: compassionate practices.
And compassion gives results. It can be measured, accounted for, visualized in spreadsheets and graphs that show the increase in team satisfaction and the decrease in indicators of disengagement or absenteeism.
I’ve had the pleasure of witnessing many examples of how compassion can completely transform the workplace. I’ve also seen leaders who go beyond the basics to support their teams and their colleagues who reach out in times of need. These attitudes create a domino effect and foster a space of positivity.
The growing interest in compassion in the workplace comes at a key moment in corporate evolution. Easy? Certainly not. Possible? Without a doubt! And most importantly: urgent!
Lisa Polloni
This text is an adaptation of the presentation of the book O poder da compaixão no ambiente de trabalho (translated as The Power of Compassion in the Workplace), which will be released soon by Editora Alta Books in Portuguese.
Illustrations by Fabiana Shizue
