33 Kindness Quotes That Will Remind You to Cut Your Coworkers Some Slack

Flamingo Images / Adobe Stock

colleagues chatting by the coffee machine

Flamingo Images / Adobe Stock

Samantha Smoak
Samantha Smoak17
@samanthaksmoak
June 28, 2024 at 3:37AM UTC
You like your coworkers, but lately, every little thing they do is getting on your last nerve. Likewise, maybe your normally laid-back and easygoing deskmate has been particularly grouchy as of late.
While you may want to lash out at someone—anyone—you know you need to smile, nod, and go with the flow. But even better, you could show kindness and compassion.
Whether you know it or not, the smallest acts of kindness and generosity could be the brightest spot in someone’s day. From simply paying a compliment, being a good Samaritan, performing random acts of kindness and good deeds, and extending your support to another human being, even a tiny gesture can go a long way in helping someone else, even if she's just having a bad day—and can make you feel better as well.
Here are 33 kindness quotes and sayings to remind you of why you should practice compassion and show human kindness.
  1. “A warm smile is the universal language of kindness.” — William Arthur Ward
  1. “A little thought and a little kindness are often worth more than a great deal of money.” — John Ruskin
  1. “Goodness is about character – integrity, honesty, kindness, generosity, moral courage and the like. More than anything else, it is about how we treat people.” — Dennis Prager
  1. “No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.” — Aesop
  1. “Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.” — Princess Diana
  1. “Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver.” — Barbara De Angelis
  1. “We need more kindness, more compassion, more joy, more laughter. I definitely want to contribute to that.” — Ellen DeGeneres
  1. “Kindness can come from someone on Twitter, it can come from someone on the street, it can come from someone at work. Without kindness, I don't know what I would do. The greatest part of life is the simple things.” — Andie MacDowell
  1. “Everyone responds to kindness.” — Richard Gere
  1. “I realized that social media can be a powerful force for good in the world and that acts of kindness can be scaled globally.” — Amy Jo Martin
  1. “What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?” — Jean-Jacques Rousseau
  1. “Kindness is the sunshine in which virtue grows.” — Robert Green Ingersoll
  1. “Kindness is always fashionable, and always welcome.” — Amelia Barr
  1. “Kindness is loving people more than they deserve.” — Joseph Joubert
  1. “Wherever there is a human being, there is an opportunity for a kindness.” — Lucius Annaeus Seneca
  1. “It’s not our job to play judge and jury, to determine who is worthy of our kindness and who is not. We just need to be kind, unconditionally and without ulterior motive, event—or rather, especially—when we’d prefer not to be.” — Josh Radnor
  1. “Here are the values that I stand for: honesty, equality, kindness, compassion, treating people the way you wanted to be treated and helping those in need. To me, those are traditional values.” — Ellen DeGeneres
  1. “Beginning today, treat everyone you meet as if they were going to be dead by midnight. Extend to them all the care, kindness and understanding you can muster, and do it with no thought of any reward. Your life will never be the same again.” — Og Mandino
  1. “Kindness in words creates confidence. Kindness in thinking creates profoundness. Kindness in giving creates love.” — Lao Tzu
  1. “You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson
  1. “Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver.” — Barbara De Angelis
  1. “True beauty is born through our actions and aspirations and in the kindness we offer to other.” — Alek Wek
  1. “Kindness is the sunshine in which virtue grows.” — Robert Green Ingersoll 
  1. “Treat everyone with respect and kindness. Period. No exceptions.” — Kiana Tom
  1. “You don’t teach morals and ethics and empathy and kindness in the schools. You teach that at home, and children learn by example.” — Judy Sheindlin 
  1. “To practice five things under all circumstances constitutes perfect virtue; these five are gravity, generosity of soul, sincerity, earnestness and kindness.” — Confucius
  1. “The words of kindness are more healing to a drooping heart than balm or honey.” — Sarah Fielding
  1. “Ask yourself: Have you been kind today? Make kindness your daily modus operandi and change your world.” — Annie Lennox
  1. “Kindness and generous spirit go a long way. And a sense of humor. It’s like medicine—very healing.” — Max Irons
  1. “I actually think that the most efficacious way of making a difference is to lead by example and doing random acts of kindness is setting a very good example of how to behave in the world.” — Misha Collins
  1. “Remember there’s no such thing as a small act of kindness. Every act creates a ripple with no logical end.” — Scott Adams
  1. “Constant kindness can accomplish so much. AS the sun makes ice melt, kindness causes misunderstanding, mistrust and hostility to evaporate.” — Albert Schweitzer
--
Samantha Smoak is a journalist turned tech public relations professional based in Nashville, Tennessee. For sports jokes and dog pictures, follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @samanthaksmoak.

Why women love us:

  • Daily articles on career topics
  • Jobs at companies dedicated to hiring more women
  • Advice and support from an authentic community
  • Events that help you level up in your career
  • Free membership, always