Workers' health and performance boosted 'significantly' by even the smallest gestures from bosses: study

Even the smallest gestures of kindness towards workers can boost their performance and health “significantly,” researchers in China have claimed.

Giving employees something as small as fruit can have a substantial effect, a study in Shenzen shows.

"An ultimate solution to improve worker performance and health could be big pay raises or reduced workloads, but when those solutions aren't feasible, we found that even small offerings can make a big difference," said Bu Zhong, associate professor of journalism at Penn State.

For their research, Zhong and his colleagues studied the effects of improving the lunches of 86 bus drivers by giving them fresh fruit every day.

They found it significantly reduced their levels of depression and significantly boosted their confidence at work.

The cost of the fruit – either an apple or a banana – was about 73 US cents a day, the study explained.

To measure the effects of the gifts, the researchers asked the drivers to complete surveys before, during and after the three-week experiment.

"Bus drivers reported significantly decreased depression levels one week after the experiments ended compared to one week before it began," said Zhong.

He added: "We found that self-efficacy was significantly higher in the middle of the experiment week than in the week after the experiment ended.”

Zhong concluded that while such small gifts may appear trivial, their effects can be huge.

"This research suggests that employees can be sensitive to any improvement at the workplace," he said.

"Before an ultimate solution is possible, some small steps can make a difference – one apple at a time."