Page Title

The Collective Joy of Helping Others

December 6, 2000

"The pleasure that people experience when they help others
is a natural motivator.   Most of us feel good knowing we
eased someone's pain or brightened someone's day.  Serving
the collective good is most always a popular theme for
stimulating celebration.  Responding to the national crises
like the Oklahoma bombing, volunteering for local charities
like United Way, even taking up a collection for a fellow
employee or customer in need gives people a feeling of
making a difference.  Putting community interests before
one's own interest cleanses the soul and buoys our sense of
altruism.  Helping others elevates the self and summons up
the individual connection to the common good that lurks in
the heart of almost everyone (Deal & Key, 1998, p.96)."

Reference: Deal, T.E. & Key, M.K. (1998).  Corporate celebration: play,
purpose, and profit at work.  San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler
Publishers, Inc.

What can your organization do to help others?

Corporate Celebration is available on loan from the OSU Leadership Center.  A complete listing of all the Leadership Center's resources is available on our website www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~leaders

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Created: 2009-01-02, Updated: 2009-02-02