In partnership with our friends at Indeed, the worldwide employment website, we just released our latest report, Kindness in the Workplace, which surveyed 1,200 18-29 year-olds who are currently or soon-to-be employed across the United States. 

While the results are hopeful, there is much work to be done to ensure all people feel affirmed and validated at work and beyond. Here are a few ways companies can make their spaces kinder communities that encourage mental wellness for young workers:

• Encourage checking in and recognizing hard work. 74% of young workers say they want their managers to check in with their team to ask if they need support professionally or personally, and 73% of young workers want companies to give recognition for employees’ hard work.

• Publicly list kindness and mental wellness as priorities for your workspace. More than 7 in 10 people under 30 say they would be more likely to apply for a job where “kindness” and “supporting employee mental health” are listed as an important value of the company. 

• Invest in mental health and kindness. More than 7 in 10 people under 30 want health insurance that covers mental health care and coverage for or access to therapists or mental health experts. 

• Ensure all workers have access to needed resources and support. 58% of all respondents agree that Transgender-affirming healthcare is an important resource to support workers’ mental health and foster kind communities. And 56% of overall respondents (67% of Transgender or Genderqueer respondents) also list colleagues sharing their pronouns as an important action. 
• Adapt and build meaningful policies. One of the most revealing findings is that since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the majority of respondents report experiencing no change, or even less focus, on the following serious concerns: physical health care, mental health care, fostering a kind work culture, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Young workers want and deserve workplaces that are responsive to the world they experience because those stressors don’t disappear as soon as their work day begins. 

We invite you to read our report, Kindness in the Workplace, and check out our ways to take action.

For those of us who work, it is often said we spend up to 33% of our lifetimes performing our jobs. As a record number of Americans are evaluating how they spend their time, I hope you will put your kindness into action in support of your own and others’ mental wellness — at work and everywhere else. Each and every one of us has a role in helping to improve the mental health of those around us and subsequently our collective mental wellness.

When you read this report, I hope this serves as a reminder that your kindness has the power to transform communities for the better and help others feel safe, supported, and affirmed.