Maggie’s inside track: keep the kindness coming – why pension funds are central to #buildbackbetter

The Mental Health Foundation (MHF) says that showing kindness to others – volunteering, doing something for a good cause or simple acts of kindness – is an excellent way to improve our own mental wellbeing. That should apply, says the MHF, not only to the actions that we take as individuals but also in business behaviour and government policy.

The pandemic has brought kindness as a business trait to the fore, with its overdue recognition of professions that require it by default (nurses, care home workers, teachers and a host of others), and closer attention to the way all companies treat their workers. Employers that have supported their furloughed staff, checked in with employees working remotely and been genuinely flexible as we balance work commitments with an unwanted second career as a school teacher, will be remembered for it, especially when it has felt like naturally the ‘right thing to do’.

The next year and beyond will demand kindness of a more enduring sort in the workplace – to those who have lost loved ones, to employees who have had existing mental health conditions exacerbated by the crisis or who have found themselves struggling with depression or anxiety for the first time. There will be employees who have found themselves or their families taking a deep hit to their financial wellbeing, or who have had to reshape their retirement plans. And we will all need each other’s support as we establish what ‘normal’ now looks like.

Businesses have a critical role to play in rebuilding the communities around them, and an employer’s commitment to supporting the mental wellbeing of their staff could start to underpin business success. Will kindness become a differentiator for businesses looking to recruit, retain and engage talent?

For kindness to take root in an organisation, it has to be authentic, consistent, enduring and deep-rooted. A thin veneer soon rubs off, and risks permanent tarnishing. Employee benefits, and pensions in particular, are part of that consistency and depth.

Staff who want to be kind and be shown kindness by their employer are also likely to want the same values in their investments. As long-term investors, pension funds and their asset managers are perfectly placed to contribute meaningfully to building back better through the companies that they invest in. That could involve scrutinising employers’ workplace practices, looking for evidence of commitment to local communities and contributing to building a more sustainable future. 

That strategy also provides a powerful story for savers, many of whom will be struggling with their wider financial wellbeing, and are less likely than ever to tolerate putting money into something that has no resonance for them.

I hope that as a society we can sustain our recognition of what it is to be kind, for the long term. There are difficult years ahead and the temptation for businesses to behave poorly in the interests of a quick, short-term recovery will be great. If the last few months are to drive more than a temporary shift in our thinking, pension investors must take a genuinely long-term view of kindness on behalf of scheme members, and show authentic commitment to #buildbackbetter. 

The author is Maggie Williams, content director at REBA.