Philippe Rodet: Hormones and Brain Waves in Kind Behaviour at Work

Philippe Rodet argues that kind behaviour at work cannot be understood through hormones alone. In a professional world shaped by constant pressure, digital overstimulation and a far denser landscape of stress than in the past, the old belief that performance is won by creating tension looks increasingly limited. Benevolence is no longer a soft extra; it is presented here as a way of regulating stress, supporting health and creating the conditions in which people can work well together.

That perspective also gives Rodet’s work its particular weight. A former emergency doctor turned consultant, he links lived professional experience with a more measured scientific reading of behaviour: the role of endorphins and oxytocin in easing strain and improving relationships, but also the place of brain-wave states in performance. The article explores this shift carefully, showing how calm alertness, realistic challenge and the memory of past success may all be associated with more constructive, more effective forms of kindness at work.

Why Kindness at Work Now Relies on More Than Hormones

A modern workplace shaped by stress

Philippe Rodet has recently highlighted a dimension that broadens the discussion around kind behaviour: alongside hormones, brain waves may also play a part. This matters because benevolent behaviour does not exist outside its era. It evolves with the context in which people work and relate to one another. Today, that context is marked by a multiplication of stressors, many of them intensified by information and communication technologies. We are therefore a long way from the older belief that strong results were best obtained by creating pressure. In the current climate, kindness is increasingly linked not only to the quality of relationships, but also to health, performance and the ability to sustain success over time.

In short: why does kind behaviour at work matter?

Kind behaviour at work matters because it can reduce threat, support motivation and create the calmer mental conditions in which people perform better. Philippe Rodet's view connects this to hormones, brain rhythms and the state of flow.

• Kindness can lower unnecessary pressure without lowering standards.
• Calm alertness may support attention and precision.
• Alpha waves are linked with relaxed wakefulness, not passivity.
• Realistic challenge can help people enter flow more easily.

For stress regulation, read How to Free Yourself from Stress and Cardiac Coherence.

Here, the focus is clearly the professional world. Rodet, a former emergency doctor who later became a consultant, has explored these questions extensively in his books and through his practical experience. In his earlier medical career, he drew on benevolent behaviour in very concrete situations, showing sympathy, respect, understanding and simple courtesy towards both colleagues and patients. In his view, such behaviour is not merely moral or interpersonal; it is also associated with physiological effects. By adjusting the way we interact so as to increase positive emotions and reduce negative ones, we may encourage the release of endorphins and oxytocin.

These hormones are often associated with lower stress levels and better human connection, which can help make workplace relationships more constructive and more stable.

• More sources of stress in daily working life
• A shift away from performance through pressure
• A stronger link between kindness, health and success

From hormonal effects to brain activity

Rodet’s argument goes further than hormonal regulation alone. When stress eases and relationships improve, teams may become more cohesive, and colleagues may feel freer to think creatively and to invest themselves in their work. This can strengthen the desire to do well, to progress and even to go beyond the minimum required. Among the benevolent behaviours he associates with this dynamic is the ability to set ambitious yet realistic goals: goals that create a genuine challenge without tipping the person into overload. In that sense, kindness at work is not softness or passivity. It may also support commitment, fulfilment and the search for meaningful success.

This is where the question of brain waves begins to enter the picture. The brain produces several types of electrical rhythms depending on mental state: Delta waves, around 0.5 to 4 Hz, are associated with deep sleep; Theta waves, from 4 to 8 Hz, with deep relaxation; Alpha waves, from 8 to 12 Hz, with calm wakefulness; Beta waves, from 12 to 30 Hz, with active alertness; and Gamma waves, around 40 Hz, with intense intellectual activity. Guy Cheron, Professor of Neurophysiology at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, has examined the waves linked to success by studying high-level athletes.

His work opens an important bridge between lived performance and measurable brain activity: if certain mental states are associated with better outcomes, then benevolent behaviour at work may be understood not only through hormones, but also through the quality of attention, regulation and inner calm that supports effective action.

• Delta: deep sleep
• Theta: deep relaxation
• Alpha: calm wakefulness
• Beta and Gamma: active attention and intense mental effort

How Alpha Waves and Flow Support Performance

Why Alpha waves are linked with successful performance

In his work on performance, Professor Guy Cheron explored the brain rhythms most closely associated with success, notably through studies involving high-level athletes. His conclusion is striking: “the Alpha rhythm is at the basis of performance”. In other words, success appears to be closely associated with Alpha waves. He also observed that these athletes could generate Alpha activity when they recalled a major sporting success from their past. The same rhythm was also linked with the moments before competition: when Alpha waves were present ahead of an event, success was often more likely to follow.

This matters because Alpha waves are typically associated with a state of calm wakefulness. They emerge when the brain is awake but settled, and they are often strongest when the mind is at rest rather than overstimulated. In that state, as the original observation suggests, the brain may allow better acuity and a finer perception of the sensory environment. That does not mean Alpha waves certainty success, but it does suggest that performance is not always born from pressure. A quieter, more regulated mental state may also support precision, attention and effective action.

• Recalling a past success may help bring back Alpha activity.
• Alpha waves are associated with calm alertness rather than passivity.
• Before a demanding task, this state may support clearer perception.

How flow, realistic challenge and kindness can reinforce one another

The psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi described the state of flow as one that strongly favours the emergence of Alpha waves. Flow combines calm with vigilance and is often sought for its sense of optimal mental efficiency. Guy Cheron develops a similar idea when he writes that “the combination between the challenge and the ability to meet it can lead us to a state of flow likely to generate the best performance”. In practical terms, this makes the way we set goals at work especially important. Ambitious yet realistic objectives create the right balance between difficulty and capability.

If the target is too high, stress rises and performance tends to fall; if it is too low, boredom appears and commitment weakens.

Seen in this light, setting fair and stimulating goals can itself become a form of benevolent behaviour at work. When people feel they are working towards something meaningful and achievable, they are often happier, calmer and more effective. Recalling earlier successes during difficult periods may also help reduce stress and restore confidence. More broadly, Philippe Rodet argues that benevolent behaviours can contribute to health, happiness, professional engagement and success. Gratitude, autonomy and empathy may all help these behaviours grow. The result can be better workplace relationships, renewed motivation and a stronger desire to make an effort, not only for oneself but also to help others thrive.

This is one reason Rodet’s books and consulting work have helped give benevolent behaviour a more recognised place in companies.

• Too much challenge can trigger stress.
• Too little challenge can lead to boredom and disengagement.
• The most supportive goals are demanding but achievable.

How to Apply Kind Behaviour Without Losing Standards

In practice, kind behaviour at work becomes credible only when it is concrete. A team does not need vague positivity; it needs conditions that make clear effort possible without constant defensive tension.

A useful starting point is to look at the daily signals people receive. Are goals clear? Is feedback humiliating or useful? Do people have enough autonomy to act well? Are pauses treated as weakness, or as part of sustained attention?

• Clarify expectations before pressure builds.
• Give feedback that names behaviour rather than attacking identity.
• Pair ambition with resources, time and realistic scope.
• Protect recovery after intense periods of work.

Leaders also need to distinguish kindness from avoidance. Avoiding a difficult conversation is not kindness if the uncertainty keeps growing. A calmer conversation, held early and respectfully, is often more benevolent than silence.

At an individual level, the same principle applies inwardly. A person can pursue strong results while reducing unnecessary self-attack. This is where breathing, cardiac coherence, short resets and emotional repair practices become useful supports rather than abstract wellness ideas.

That does not make kindness a productivity trick. It makes it a design principle: reduce unnecessary threat, keep standards visible and give useful effort somewhere to go. The result is not automatic performance, but a healthier climate for attention, motivation and cooperation.

The Mental Waves Calm Performance Framework

The Mental Waves frame is to separate kindness from softness. A kind workplace is not one without ambition; it is one where pressure is shaped intelligently enough for the nervous system to stay functional.

• Reduce threat: remove avoidable fear, humiliation and uncertainty.
• Set real challenge: give goals that stretch without crushing.
• Support regulation: use breathing, pauses and recovery to keep attention clear.
• Protect meaning: connect effort to usefulness, learning and contribution.

The free Mental Reset Session can act as a short transition between pressure and clear action. For emotional repair, continue with Making Peace with Emotions.

Editorial note from Mental Waves

This article is educational. Alpha waves and flow should be understood as helpful concepts, not as a certain formula for success. Work stress, burnout or harassment deserve appropriate organisational and professional support.

Conclusion

What emerges from Rodet’s perspective is not a simplistic opposition between kindness and performance, but a more subtle idea: benevolent behaviour may help create the inner conditions in which people work better. In a professional environment saturated with stress, this matters. The article links that possibility to both hormonal regulation and patterns of brain activity, while remaining grounded in observation rather than certainty. Kindness, in this sense, is not softness for its own sake; it is associated with calmer attention, better relationships and a more stable basis for engagement.

The role of alpha waves adds an important nuance. Success is not presented here as the product of pressure alone, but as something often supported by a state of calm alertness, close to what Csikszentmihalyi described as flow. That is why realistic yet ambitious goals, positive recall and a more respectful working climate may all help reduce overload without lowering standards. Seen this way, benevolence is less a moral ornament than a practical form of regulation — one that may support health, perception and performance at the same time.

Scientific sources and references

• The benevolent behaviour discussed here belongs in the professional sphere. It is practised and expressed at work. Philippe Rodet, a former emergency doctor who became a consultant, has explored this subject extensively in his books. In his previous profession, he drew on benevolent behaviour in a range of situations. He showed kindness not only to his colleagues but also to his patients.
• He showed them sympathy, respect, understanding and courtesy. In developing his argument, he speaks of a relationship between hormones and benevolent behaviour. According to him, such behaviour influences hormones. We are able to produce endorphins and oxytocin by adapting our behaviour so as to increase positive emotions and reduce negative ones.
• Endorphins and oxytocin can lower stress levels and greatly improve relationships between people. Teams become more united, and colleagues more creative, thanks to their release in the workplace. People increasingly want to do well at work. They aim for success and even tend to do more than they thought they could. They display many benevolent behaviours, including setting ambitious yet realistic goals.
• In this way, they set themselves a challenge that they try to overcome by every possible means. They seek fulfilment at work. They seek success, which today can also be associated with certain brain waves.
• The types of waves emitted by our brain are varied. When the brain is in deep sleep, it emits waves from 0.5 to 4 Hz known as Delta waves. Theta waves, ranging from 4 to 8 Hz, are emitted when the brain is in deep relaxation. Alpha waves, from 8 to 12 Hz, occur during calm wakefulness. In an active waking state, the brain produces Beta waves from 12 to 30 Hz.
• Finally, during intense intellectual activity, the brain emits powerful Gamma waves at 40 Hz. Guy Cheron, Professor of Neurophysiology at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, has studied the waves linked to success. To do so, he chose elite athletes. He tested them while trying to discover how these waves might be brought about more easily.
• The professor therefore investigated and identified the waves responsible for success. According to him, “Alpha rhythm is the basis of performance”. In other words, success and Alpha waves go hand in hand. In carrying out his experiment with elite athletes, he also found that they produced Alpha waves when thinking back to a major sporting success from their past. He likewise highlighted an association between Alpha waves and sporting competition. When they occur before such an event, success is often forthcoming.
• As a reminder, Alpha waves appear when the brain is in a state of calm wakefulness. These waves are strongest when the brain is at rest. At that moment, the brain “allows better acuity and better perception of the sensory environment in particular”.
• The renowned Hungarian psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi describes the state of “flow” as being especially conducive to the emergence of Alpha waves. This state is a blend of calm and alertness, enabling the brain to function with optimal efficiency. For Professor Guy Cheron, “the combination of challenge and the ability to meet it can lead us to a state of flow capable of generating the best performance”.
• The level of the goals we set ourselves at work is connected to the state of flow. Indeed, knowing how to set goals leads to success. Ambitious yet realistic goals make possible this “combination of challenge and the ability to meet it” of which Professor Cheron speaks. When the goals set are too high, the person becomes stressed and does not perform well. If they are too low, the person does not succeed in what they undertake and becomes bored. It is therefore by setting ambitious yet realistic goals that a person experiences and expresses benevolent behaviour.
• Feeling that one is accomplishing something one can succeed in brings happiness. One feels calmer and also more effective. The brain’s acuity is heightened. In short, goals set during difficult moments, together with thinking back to previous successes, greatly reduce stress.
• Ultimately, benevolent behaviour leads to success, health, happiness and professional commitment. When we are able to feel more gratitude, be more autonomous and express empathy at the same time, benevolent behaviour develops more and more. We feel less stress and greater fulfilment at work. Relationships in the workplace improve, and this also affects professional commitment and success. The desire to make an effort returns, and in the end we help others to fulfil themselves. We can therefore infer the importance of benevolent behaviour in the workplace.
• To go further, one might say that benevolent behaviour has an impact on employees’ motivation at work. It reduces stress, makes people more motivated, and is therefore an asset that can be used in business. By opening his own consultancy and writing influential books on benevolent behaviour, Philippe Rodet is helping to give it a stronger place in the workplace.

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