Forum: Have we become too busy to be kind?

In our pursuit of efficiency and compliance, we seem to leave too little room for kindness.

Consider our everyday interactions. When someone takes longer at a self-service machine, do we offer assistance or become impatient? When someone struggles with a process, do we consider their circumstances?

Perhaps the issue is not that Singaporeans are inherently unkind. Rather, many of us are so occupied with our own responsibilities that we have little time or emotional capacity left to notice the needs of others.

Research suggests that time pressures can influence people’s willingness to help. Closer to home, the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre’s National Giving Study 2025 found that work, childcare and caregiving responsibilities shape people’s participation in volunteering.

This raises a question about the kind of society we are building. Have we become so accustomed to measuring what is efficient, productive or required that we sometimes overlook what is thoughtful, considerate or simply humane?

A gracious society requires workplaces, institutions and communities that allow people the time, flexibility and discretion to respond to others with care.

Efficiency and kindness need not be competing values. But as we continue striving to become a more productive and efficient society, we should also ask whether we are making sufficient room for one another.

Yeow Beng Zhen