World Kindness Day 2026

For this week’s challenge, it’s time to plan something special to recognise your colleagues, celebrate together, and spread our kindness message.

With six weeks to go until World Kindness Day, now’s the time to get together with your colleagues, brainstorm ideas, and talk about how you want to celebrate in November.

This year, World Kindness Day falls on a Friday. To make sure everyone in your team is included, we want you to choose the days that suit you and your team the most. That’s any day from Monday 9 to Sunday 15 November.

Here are some of the ways that colleagues celebrated last year, for inspiration:

• At Dunbarton Joint Hospital, staff held an event with donated snacks, cakes and drinks, and got colleagues to write on a kindness board
• At the Glasgow Royal Infirmary, staff had a hot chocolate station as a treat for colleagues
• At the Royal Alexandra Hospital, the team had a roving ‘kindness cart’ where colleagues went from ward to ward spreading the Civility Saves Lives message, as well as a stand in the R&R hub where staff wrote down kindness pledges
• At the Beatson, staff were asked to contribute to a kindness chain, getting patients to write their experience of kindness in the hospital on a link of the chain and spreading the message that small acts of kindness can have a ripple effect

Small acts of kindness are a simple way to show your team you care.

A “how are you?” when you see someone in the corridor, a simple thank you when your colleague gives you a helping hand or bringing some treats in to share with your team are just some of the wee things that help us through our toughest days.

For this week’s challenge, we’re focusing on the small acts of kindness you can do to brighten a colleague’s day.

Here are a few things you could do this week:

• Make sure to say hello and smile when you see any colleagues in the corridor
• Buy a coffee or a treat for a colleague behind you in the queue at lunch
• Ask someone in your team about their weekend and have a chat
• Download and print our bingo card, ticking off simple acts of kindness throughout the week (you can find this by searching ‘bingo card’ on the NHSGGC website)

How we treat our colleagues at work, and how we are treated ourselves, has a big impact on our mood, morale, and the people around us.

This week, we challenge you to get together with colleagues to catch up, get to know each other, and think of ways that you can promote kindness in your team.

Whether you’re in the office, on your ward, or on Teams, take this time to think of things that you can all do to make your workplace kinder.

Here are a few ideas to get you thinking:

• Chat about common interests and see if you can start a book, TV or film club to regularly check in
• Create a kindness board or wall, where people can post messages for each other, positive quotes or affirmations. You could work together to decorate one, or mark a space for positive Post-Its
• Use the Praise app on Teams (just search ‘Praise’ in the apps section in the left-hand toolbar) to show your appreciation for your colleagues one-to-one or in your group channels
• Create a Kindness Charter, agreeing on a framework or statements for how your team can behave and communicate with each other and people external to the team

When our wellbeing suffers, it can feel more difficult to extend kindness to others.

It is important that we look after our own mental health and wellness so that we can bring the best version of ourselves to work and for our loved ones.

This week, we challenge you to make time for yourself and prioritise your own wellbeing.

Here are a few self-care ideas for the week:

• Book a free Active Staff class with options such as yoga, Pilates, and bootcamps. You can find a link to more information and to book a class here: Active Staff – NHSGGC
• Make time to do an activity that brings you joy! Whether that be something creative like painting, cooking or crafting, something physical like a long walk, going to the gym or doing a class, or something cultural like watching a film, reading a book, or going to a gallery
• Know any colleagues that like the same things? Group up and do a group activity!

Sometimes a simple thank you is all that’s needed to make someone’s day

For this week’s challenge, it’s time to say thank you to your colleagues, your team, or any people that make your work life special.

This could be someone who always brightens your day with a cup of tea and a biscuit, someone who went above and beyond to help you at a tough time, or someone who is always there for you and your team as a kind and compassionate colleague.

We’ve included a thank you note template in this pack that you can print off and share with your colleagues, to spread kindness throughout your team.

We’d also love to share your thanks publicly and give your colleagues the recognition they deserve!

If you’d like to share an anonymous thank you that we’ll share on Staffnet and in the Core Brief, fill in our form: World Kindness Day 2026: Send a thank you – Fill in form

It’s time to put your plans into action and celebrate World Kindness Day!

For the final week of the challenge, we want you to bring together everything you’ve planned over the past few weeks and celebrate kindness with your team.

Whether you’re hosting an event, sharing thank you notes, bringing in treats, taking five minutes to check in with colleagues, or doing something completely different, this is your chance to make kindness visible in your workplace.

Wherever and whenever you decide to celebrate, we hope you have an amazing World Kindness Day 2026!

Make sure to take photos and share them with the comms team. Let us know what you’ve been up to, and we’ll share your stories on Staffnet and in the Core Brief: World Kindness Day 2026: Team Celebrations – Fill in form