The Kindness Deficit

"the kindness deficit" hits right at the heart of what so many communities, organisations, and movements are up against right now. It's a useful frame for understanding burnout, polarisation, and even apathy.

It’s been a big topic of conversation within our team and with clients lately. I thought it was worth sharing some thoughts and starting a broader conversation about how we tackle it.

Even though the term "kindness deficit" isn't widely established in academic literature, it’s got traction because it encapsulates a growing worry: a perceived decline in empathy, compassion, and mutual respect within society. I’ve had a good trawl for hard evidence for a a decline in empathy and compassion but it’s hard to find anything concrete. Though, there’s some research indicating a significant drop in empathy levels among young adults. A study published in the Personality and Social Psychology Review, for instance, found that empathy among American college students decreased by 40% between 1979 and 2009. That’s a whopping fall and since the study is USA only, it’s difficult to extrapolate across countries ands cultures.

Perceived or otherwise, it’s a hot topic and how we bridge that deficit is a constant challenge for us when we’re working with clients in the field of social action. We’ve worked on two recent projects with Refugee Action and Welsh Refugee Council and both are asking their audience to have some compassion and empathy for the situation of refugees and asylum seekers. How do we spark their audience into taking action or reframing their thoughts about the issue of refugees?

Over the next few weeks I want to share some thoughts on blogs and social media about the ‘Kindness Deficit’, is it real or not and how can we tackle it head on?