Being a prosocial human means acting in the best interest of our communities because serving the public good is more important than advancing our own agenda.

Cooperative economist Stefano Zamagni argues that seeking to help the world is an emerging worklife practice: “prosocial (such as the increasingly numerous consumers who support and sustain the fair trade and ethical finance movements; or the businessmen, also increasing in number, who are instituting democratic stakeholding in their firms as the practical expression of corporate social responsibility).”

Caring about others boosts our mental health, reduces loneliness, and improves our worklife performance, too. According to Fast Company’s Stephanie Vozza, “people who have a high prosocial motivation … are generally happier, they have high psychological well-being, and, most importantly, they have stronger job performance.” Stepping in when a colleague is away sick or coaching a colleague through a tricky technical task are examples of how prosocial actions create ripples of benefits for all.

Prosocial tendencies can be woven into the cultural fabric of organizations and communities, too. Reviewing how a company’s core values drive prosocial behaviour, as opposed to reward individual achievement, and emphasize critical human skills, such as empathy, collaboration, and intercultural understanding, are great places to start. Rewarding employees for helping each other or elevating contributions to the team above individual accomplishments are straightforward examples of baking prosocial practices into culture.

Imagine performance reviews that focus on what we achieved together to make experiences and products better for everyone. We all want to live in this world.