Heartwarming employee stories of kindness and compassion

Last fall, we reached out and asked you for some anonymous comms horror stories to share ahead of Halloween. The responses were so interesting, they even spun off a sequel.

To embrace a more loving vibe ahead of Valentine’s Day, we asked our readers to share anonymous stories of kindness and compassion on their teams that inspired them.

Leaders supporting work-life balance 

The pandemic took a toll on many people’s physical or mental health, sometimes affecting their ability to find work-life balance. When one respondent felt overwhelmed with work due to a personal issue, their manager kindly helped lighten their load.

“During COVID, I went through a bad breakup and my manager offered to take over my work that day to recover,” they said. “That small gesture really stayed with me.”

Another respondent also recalled a time when their boss went above and beyond to support them on a personal level.

“My then 15-year-old son and I traveled from Philly to Atlanta for a baseball tournament,” they shared. “On a Sunday, my fabulous boss from the Atlanta area reached out to ask if she could come to support him and watch him pitch. Our weekends are precious and I’m still warmed by her effort!”

Building a bilingual bridge

In an increasingly divided world, it’s always a positive thing to see bridges built. One respondent explained how they helped a temporary employee transition to become a full-time worker.

“On our Texas construction job sites we encounter diverse professionals, many of whom speak Spanish as their primary or only language,” they explained. “Overcoming language barriers in this environment, compounded by the clamor of construction machinery, has historically been a formidable challenge.”

Partial, time-consuming fixes still left much lost in translation until the respondent made a succesful business case for the organization to invest in translation earbuds. This brought the bilingual barriers down and integrated accessibility tech to enhance the experience of on-site workers.

“The impact was profound, especially for individuals like  Luis,” they continued. . His dedication and enthusiasm stood out.”

“Impressed by his dedication, coupled with his vocalized ambitions, we decided to bring Luis on board as a permanent employee,” the respondent said.

An on-the-job love story

In keeping with our Valentine’s Day theme, another respondent recalled how two employees of a food delivery organization met and fell in love. Believe it or not, it all began with an argument over broccoli packaging.

“The duo share their unique love story with each other and their love for the people at the organization,” the respondent said. “Nothing brings people together like food, and no two people know that better than these two. It was love at first sprout!”

​​Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications. In his spare time he enjoys Philly sports, a good pint and ’90s trivia night.