Compassion – and how it relates to well-being.
Compassion is not only an important human skill essential for a more sustainable development of our societies, it is also important for well-being in study and work environments and can be preventative of stress.
Compassion as an important skill for business and society
At the CBS Responsibility Day 2021 Principal Nikolaj Malchow-Møller opened the event with the following words: ”As a school of business we believe that a business leader has to take responsibility for much more than just the profit of the company. Our aim is to make them competitive in business and compassionate in society.”
What does it mean to be compassionate and how do we work with it in higher education? AT CBS Well-being Lab our work is concerned with what it takes for students to thrive, whether it is in the study environments, in the study-work-life balance, as new students begin at their study programs and as graduates enter the work market. We are exploring how to prevent, reduce and manage stress, and how to increase and improve well-being among students. We have found that compassion, as a human quality and skill that can be enhanced and trained, matters in this regard.
Understanding compassion
Compassion influences well-being among people, but also relates to people’s ability and drive to take responsibility in society. In the literature, compassion is often defined as an interpersonal process involving “feeling for another” which influences one’s actions, for example feeling a genuine drive to act, whereas empathy involves “feeling as another” (Dutton et al., 2006). Although the two concepts are closely related, compassion is more action oriented than empathy. The word compassion derives from Latin meaning “co-suffering” or “to suffer together”. To have compassion imply that being confronted with other’s suffering creates a strong emotional response and a desire to help relieve that suffering. It is a human force that drives people to selfless acts of attending to the care of others, or themselves, also referred to as self-compassion.
How to work with compassion?
“All my research is about strengthening study communities and teaching students to support each other in navigating the study life, which in year 2021 is characterized by high and potentially conflicting demands and ideals and myths about what the “perfect” student needs to do and be. This can unfortunately create stress and situations where people don’t dare to share their insecurities or reach out to others” – Pernille Steen Pedersen
To understand the challenges of others, but also to foster environments that perceive sensitivity is a strength, can lead to more compassionate relations. In this project we are developing material and methods that aim to help students give voice to their experiences and find ways to act on them. We have developed material in form of podcasts, videos, dialogue cards and different writings and reflection exercises to this end. Pernille is also doing presentations and well-being workshops on these topics.
For example, the dialogue cards that have been developed based on the research and collaboration with students, are designed to provide students insights in four different ways: 1. to know about well-being challenges more generally, 2. to acknowledge different ways students may react under pressure, 3. to reflect upon how one prefers to receive help from others when pressured, and 4. to realize what kind of situations are stressful to members in the group.
On this basis the cards are meant to facilitate conversations that gives a better understanding of oneself and others, which is prerequisite for developing and showing more empathy or compassion. It is one way to work practically and relationally with the development of transformation capabilities related to constructive collaboration skills, resilience and well-being in groups.
Compassion as part of a solution to well-being challenges
We find that compassion is deeply connected with well-being and that a more compassionate culture reduces stress. In her research project “stress prevention and well-being among students” Pernille Steen Pedersen therefore asks: “If we regard compassion as a key skill important for students’ well-being at CBS, but also for their capabilities for coping with future work-life demands, how then, can CBS work with compassion in teaching and study environments?” This is a question we will continue to explore through research and collaboration with students and other partners, but we already has some ideas.
One aspect concerns the knowing of other people’s “suffering”. It is hard to foster compassion if people don’t know the challenges others are facing. It is also hard if there within the culture is a dominant view of what “success” look like, which can create a pressure to perform in certain ways and to pretend to be okay or on top of things all the time. Working with compassion then entails creating habits and environments where it is experienced as normal and safe to share challenges of study life. Another aspect is therefore to break taboos. This could include debunking myths of success and “the ideal student”, nuancing the picture, and making greater room for multiplicity of experiences. In relation hereto, a third aspect is to point towards the shared humanity, and the feeling that “we are in the same boat” or could be in the future. Lastly, a fourth aspect is to find ways to take compassionate action for oneself and others.
Sarah Marcussen, at the time of interview a third year HA(phil.) student, sum it up very well:
“If people have a hard time expressing it or speaking about it, either because they are not comfortable talking about their emotions or because they feel that it is taboo, then you can show videos with other students (addressing insecurity); where you then feel like “wow, that is exactly how I felt too”, so that it becomes easier for them, and normalized, that these challenges are part of being a student. Showing that it is normal to have such feelings instead of people are thinking they are wrong.”
It takes a collective effort
It will take a collective effort to make new practices and habits over time. It is our hope that in particular students can help and support each other in this movement, but also that teachers and other people in the educational system get involved.
Some of the feedback students have shared after working with some of the material, for example the dialogue cards, is that they were surprised to learn how others’ were struggling, that it made them feel less alone and pressured in their own struggles – but also, that it made them want to help their fellow students, as can be seen from the two quotes from students below.
“I was not at all aware that there was anyone who may feel they are inadequate. But I think it’s cool to reflect on it and take it with you when you meet other people, not everyone thinks like you. After all, they rarely do, in fact. I think it was quite rewarding to read those quotes and talk about them.”
– Student after using the dialogue cards“We were all agreeing that actually we want to help others who feel pressured (..) It gives a safety to know that others are ready to help.”
– Student after using the dialogue cards
“You realized that not everyone acts the in the same way in certain situations. It also contributes to knowing each other better, so you know how to behave when working in groups.”
– Student after using the dialogue cards