How kindness and empathy in kids builds essential workplace skills

Today businesses need employees who can do more than just their job well. They require people who can work with others, handle pressure, and thrive in diverse teams. While technical skills and good academic results still matter, research shows that “soft skills” especially kindness and empathy are just as important for tomorrow’s workforce. Teaching children these traits early can help create future employees who are not only capable but also caring, resilient and can work collaboratively in teams.

“Every day, we see the profound difference that kindness can make in a child’s life,” says Sophie Sparks, Founder of You Can Sit With Me, a children’s anti-bullying charity and a teacher with more than 20 years’ experience. “When we teach children to be kind, we’re not just helping them navigate school; we’re giving them skills they’ll use throughout their entire lives and careers.”

Kindness and empathy in childhood

Kindness and empathy are fundamental parts of human development. Empathy is the ability to understand and share another person’s feelings, which includes both feeling what they feel and seeing things from their perspective¹. Kindness is closely related – it’s acting with care and respect toward others, showing genuine concern for their wellbeing^2.

These traits start developing in early childhood through interactions with parents and caregivers. Children learn to pay attention to others’ needs and manage their own emotions, which helps them develop kind feelings³. This growth happens through caring relationships, supportive parenting, and communities that value kindness.

The good news is that kindness and empathy aren’t fixed, they can be taught and strengthened throughout childhood and the teenage years. Programs that focus on social and emotional learning have shown real success in building these skills, proving that we can positively shape how children interact with others^4.

Better behaviour and workplace success

Empathy helps people act in ways that benefit others—cooperating, helping, and resolving conflicts. Children with higher empathy have better social interactions, show less aggression, and make better moral decisions^5.

In the workplace, these social and emotional skills translate into teamwork, clear communication, and strong leadership. Employees with empathy better understand their coworkers’ perspectives, handle disagreements constructively, and create welcoming environments. Kind leaders who communicate with compassion improve relationships at work and boost both productivity and profits^6.

Studies show that when kindness is built into company policies and leadership practices, it creates positive relationships, supports employee wellbeing, and increases customer satisfaction. When leaders model kindness, it spreads throughout the organisation⁷. These workplace cultures reduce burnout and build resilience—essential for long-term success.

Reduce bullying and improve schools

Bullying seriously harms children’s social development and school success. Research shows that children who lack empathy are more likely to bully others, while those with more empathy show less aggressive behaviour⁸. Empathy training and anti-bullying programs successfully increase students’ ability to understand and share feelings, which leads to less bullying⁹.

“The connection between empathy and bullying prevention is undeniable,” Sophie explains. “In our programs, we’ve witnessed countless moments where a child suddenly ‘gets it’ — they understand how their words or actions made someone else feel. That moment of recognition is transformative. It’s not about punishment; it’s about building understanding.”

Schools that prioritise kindness create welcoming communities where students feel safe and valued¹⁰. These environments support healthy emotional and social growth, preparing children for future workplace success. When children learn to handle conflicts with empathy and kindness, they carry these positive behaviors into adulthood^11.

The role of parents and community

The way parents raise their children significantly impacts empathy development. Supportive, affectionate parenting helps children understand and share emotions, while harsh or neglectful parenting is linked to lower empathy and more aggression¹⁰. Community programs that involve parents and teachers in social-emotional learning further strengthen these traits in children^11.

Schools and community groups play a crucial role in modeling and reinforcing kindness and empathy, making these values part of children’s daily experience. Classrooms that practice “transformational kindness” combining high expectations with empathy, help students develop trust, cooperation, and resilience^12.

Leadership and workplace culture

The workplace cultures children eventually encounter shape them as employees. Research shows that leaders who prioritise kindness and compassionate communication create healthier work environments with better outcomes for everyone. Kind leadership includes being flexible, emotionally intelligent, and providing training in empathy and kindness^13.

School leadership benefits from this approach too. Principals and administrators who model kindness create school cultures that support both staff and students, building environments where learning and growth flourish. Hiring people who share these values further embeds kindness into an organisation’s culture^14.

Why kindness and empathy matter to employers

Employers increasingly recognise that technical skills alone don’t guarantee success at work. Emotional intelligence, including empathy and kindness, is essential for handling complex relationships and encouraging innovation and teamwork. Kind employees contribute to lower staff turnover, higher morale, and better customer relationships^15.

Kindness and empathy also help people adapt and stay strong during stressful times and change — crucial abilities in today’s fast-paced workplaces¹⁶. Organisations that develop these traits in their employees benefit from stronger community connections, better reputations, and lasting success^17.

Practical steps to build kindness and empathy in children

Parents and teachers can take concrete steps to nurture kindness and empathy:

1. Model kindness and empathy: Children learn by watching. When adults show compassionate behavior, they teach powerful lessons

2. Create safe, supportive environments: Schools and homes that prioritise emotional safety encourage children to express and understand feelings

3. Implement empathy training: Programs that focus on seeing things from others’ perspectives and recognising emotions help children develop empathy in multiple ways

4. Encourage community and connection: Activities that build community and emphasise shared goals make kindness a normal part of life

5. Address conflict with kindness: Teaching children to approach disagreements with empathy and kindness builds problem-solving skills and resilience

“One of the most powerful things we can do is create opportunities for children to practice kindness in real situations,” says Sophie. “It’s not enough to tell children to ‘be kind.’ We need to show them what kindness looks like, give them chances to experience it, and celebrate it when we see it happening. Small acts of kindness in childhood become habits that last a lifetime.”

Challenges and the need for continued research

While the benefits of building kindness and empathy are clear, challenges exist. Workplace cultures focused solely on profit or efficiency may treat relationships as transactions, undermining genuine kindness¹⁸. Also, helping children develop empathy in toxic or stressful environments requires targeted support^19.

More research is needed to find the best ways to integrate kindness and empathy in different settings and to measure their long-term impact on career success²⁰. Still, the existing evidence strongly supports deliberate efforts to build these traits starting in early childhood.

A strategic investment for the future

Building kindness and empathy in children isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s a smart investment in the future workforce. These traits support positive behaviour, reduce bullying, improve mental health, and develop the social skills that matter in today’s workplaces. Kind and empathetic people create healthier, more productive organisations and communities.

“When we invest in teaching kindness to children, we’re investing in the future of our workplaces, our communities, and our society,” Sophie reflects. “The children we teach to be kind today will be the compassionate leaders, collaborative colleagues, and caring professionals of tomorrow. That’s not just good for business, it’s essential for creating a world we all want to live in.”

By nurturing kindness and empathy through parenting, education, and community involvement, we prepare children to become better coworkers and leaders who contribute to a more caring society. The research is clear: kindness and empathy are essential for building better future employees and, ultimately, a better world.

References:

[1, 8] Haddock, A. D., & Jimerson, S. R. (2017). An Examination of Differences in Moral Disengagement and Empathy Among Bullying Participant Groups. Journal of Relationships Research, 8, Article e15.

[1, 5] Heynen, E. et. al, Parenting style and empathy in youth: A three-level meta analysis in Jolliffe, D., & Farrington, D. P. (2021). Empathy versus Offending, Aggression, and Bullying: Advancing Knowledge using the Basic Empathy Scale (D. Jolliffe & D. P. Farrington, Eds.; 1st edition.). Routledge.

[2, 10, 12, 14, 16] Wilson, H. E. (2023). Building transformational kindness in schools: a guide for teachers and leaders. Routledge.  

[3, 4, 11, 12, 19] Malti, T. (2025). Becoming humane : The development of kindness in an age of division. International Journal of Behavioral Development.

[6, 7, 13,15, 17, 18, 20] Smith-Merry, J., Mellifont, D., Scanlan, J. N., & Hancock, N. (2025). Organisational kindness and compassion: what are the barriers, enablers and outcomes for clients and stakeholders? PloS One, 20(6), Article e0312450.  

[8, 9] Johander, E., Trach, J., Turunen, T., Garandeau, C. F., & Salmivalli, C. (2022). Intention to Stop Bullying following a Condemning, Empathy-Raising, or Combined Message from a Teacher – Do Students’ Empathy and Callous-Unemotional Traits Matter? Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 51(8), 1568–1580.

[9] Mehari, K. R., Beulah, B., Paskewich, B., Leff, S. S., & Waasdorp, T. E. (2023). Cyberbullying and Empathy Among Late-Elementary School Children. International Journal of Bullying Prevention, 5(1), 79–87.

YOU CAN SIT WITH ME is an inclusive, evidence-based, peer-led program reducing school refusal, social isolation, bullying, exclusion and non-inclusive behaviour.

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