Love as a Silent Force in Organisations and Society – A blog post by Annemieke Mintjes
The Cliché Called Love
We sing about it, write about it, long for it: love. But once we are at work, the word almost seems like forbidden territory. As if love is meant only for home or our private lives. That is strange when you consider how many hours we spend working, and how much that work affects others and the world.
Part of our liberal mindset is a great trust in the rational individual. Individuals are seen as independent, rational actors forming the cornerstone of society. But that is a myth. People do not primarily base their choices on rational grounds, but on emotions and all kinds of rules of thumb.
How Does Love Influence Workplaces?
In this way, love also has a great influence on how we live our lives and how we feel. It shapes what we value, gives meaning to our world, and guides our ambitions. People who love their work, and companies where there is genuine attention for people, perform better. Love is also demonstrably physically good for us. Not just love for a specific person, but those moments when you really connect with another human being. Such moments have a positive impact socially, psychologically, and physically.
Exploring Love In Work
In my work as a trainer, facilitator, and agile coach, I visit many organisations. Sometimes I am touched by the warmth and involvement people radiate. But just as often I notice how cramped and harsh the work climate can be, even (and sometimes especially) in organisations with the best intentions and idealistic goals. Inspired by a course on “Love in Business,” I started to explore love as a conscious theme in work.
The more I delved into the power of love, the more I began to wonder how we might give love a place in a business context. Not as a sticky feel-good term, but as a real force for collaboration, engagement, and meaning. This led to my book Love@Work, in which I describe how we can bring more humanity into organisations and society.
Love as a Force, Not as a Soft Theme
The word love may initially provoke resistance in organisations. But ultimately, everyone understands the strength and value of love. Sustainable results emerge when people feel connected to each other, to the goal they are working toward, and to the larger whole of which they are part.
Love at work then means:
- connection instead of distance
- attention for people, not only for processes
- care for the earth and society, not only for profit
- courage to engage in honest and compassionate conversations
- space for diversity and colour, instead of uniformity
The Manifesto of Love
In Love@Work, I introduce the Manifesto of Love as both a personal and societal invitation.
The Manifesto names eight polarities that are constantly in motion in our lives and work. In our time, driven by technology, performance pressure, and economic growth, we have often (unintentionally) shifted too far toward the right-hand side.
The Manifesto invites us to pause and consciously give more space again to the values on the left:
- We over I
- Feeling over Thinking
- Now over Past & Future
- Human over Technology
- Compassion over Judgment
- Agile over Rigid
- Earth over More, more, more
- Colour over Colourlessness
LHS Versus RHS
This does not mean that the right-hand side is bad by definition. But overall, we have tilted too far in that direction. Especially now, there is a need for balance, for more humanity, attention, and compassion. The Manifesto helps to open the conversation: How do we want to show up in our work? How can we — individually and as a team or organisation — consciously contribute to that loving movement?
Love as a Social Force
What becomes increasingly clear to me: love in work also has influence beyond the walls of organisations. It has societal impact. When employees feel seen and valued, they bring that home, to their neighbourhoods, to society. Organisations that work from loving principles do not only deliver products or services but also contribute to a more humane economy.
This connects to insights from programs I followed at Erasmus University. At its core, economics is about collaboration. And collaboration only truly flourishes when love, in the form of respect, care, and connection, is part of it.
What Would Love Do?
That is why I increasingly ask the question: What would love do? Not as a sweet mantra, but as a practical test.
- In a difficult conversation with a colleague: What would love do?
- In designing a new product or service: What would love do, for the customer and for the world?
- In making strategic choices: What would love do for the long term?
That question opens space for reflection, nuance, and courage. Exactly what we need in a complex world where human scale and care are under pressure.
An Invitation
I am convinced: the more we bring love into work, the more strongly we contribute to a more humane society. You do not need to take big steps. Start with small choices. A sincere question. Genuine attention. Showing both courage and gentleness.
And perhaps ask yourself from time to time:
“What would love do?”
Who knows what might then become possible!
Annemieke Mintjes is a trainer, coach, and facilitator in smarter and more joyful work, and author of Love@Work. She is committed to bringing more humanity into organisations, with love as the guiding principle. For more information about her work and the book: loveatwork.frl