{ "id": 1422, "date": "2026-10-14T07:20:24", "date_gmt": "2026-10-14T07:20:24", "guid": { "rendered": "https:\/\/muratafinland.com\/?p=1422" }, "modified": "2026-10-14T07:20:28", "modified_gmt": "2026-10-14T07:20:28", "slug": "the-anatomy-of-helping", "status": "publish", "type": "post", "link": "http:\/\/muratafinland.com\/en\/the-anatomy-of-helping\/", "title": { "rendered": "The Anatomy of Helping" }, "content": { "rendered": "

From the moment we are born, we humans have a biological need to seek contact and be accepted. This is not merely learned behavior; it is a survival mechanism programmed into human DNA through evolution. Newborn babies naturally seek out human faces, and especially the eyes. The need to be seen and heard does not disappear in adulthood; it remains extremely important throughout our lives.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the modern world is completely different from the Stone Age, our brains and bodies still largely operate according to the same \u201ccodes.\u201d When we encounter danger, such as an angry dog, our bodies begin to produce adrenaline. Our heart rate rises, and we may be able to run faster if necessary. This is known as the \u201cfight-or-flight\u201d response. A similar reaction can be triggered, for example, when psychological safety is undermined or when we find ourselves in a conflict situation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our need for social acceptance works in much the same way: we often seek to be part of a group because we fear rejection. For our ancestors on the savannah, being left alone could often be fatal. Human beings therefore have inherited and automatic ways of reacting and behaving in situations that our ancestors experienced as threatening or critical. These mechanisms have developed over millions of years as a result of natural selection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can work effectively on our own, but progressing together comes naturally to us, and we often seek one another\u2019s company. Sometimes a task requires a level of understanding that leads us to ask a colleague for advice. Helping others enhances our wellbeing by increasing our sense of meaningfulness at work, strengthening our professional self-esteem and offering some protection against stress. Helping is often also about compassion, and the person offering help needs the ability to put themselves in another person\u2019s position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Helping others enhances our wellbeing by increasing our sense of meaningfulness at work, strengthening our professional self-esteem and offering some protection against stress.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Our brains are responsible for what is known as social intelligence, which includes having a good sense of what is appropriate in a given situation. Helping and supporting another person requires cognitive regulation so that we can recognize and respond to different situations. Sometimes simply listening to another person can be the best possible form of emotional support, even though we may not always recognize this in the moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The nervous system, in turn, plays a role in how we respond to the impulse to help. When the recipient of help expresses gratitude, the helper\u2019s brain activates what is known as the hormonal reward system. The brain then produces the feel-good hormones dopamine and oxytocin, which give us a sense of wellbeing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We humans sometimes make mistakes and get things wrong. We also learn through our mistakes, and they may even lead to new and better ideas. If we do not allow room for mistakes, we cannot develop either. Successful companies and products have rarely emerged overnight\u2014in many cases, the path to success and new innovations has involved mistakes and learning. Success has often also required the help of others, because the best ideas are frequently created through collaboration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Helping one another is one of the themes in Murata Finland\u2019s cultural etiquette, and it is a key factor in developing new ideas. We know that we can strengthen employee satisfaction by having the courage to ask for and offer help. From the perspective of customer satisfaction, innovations mean new technical ideas and solutions for our customers\u2014and that, too, is a form of helping our customers. To actively develop and create something new, we need one another\u2019s support and shared brainstorming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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To actively develop and create something new, we need one another\u2019s support and shared brainstorming.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

We are fortunate to have the opportunity to learn something new from one another every day. In the workplace, it is important that we share knowledge, help one another, and value our diverse expertise while fostering a sense of community. A strong community is one of our key strengths for the future and also supports our wellbeing. Working together strengthens team spirit and helps ensure that everyone feels seen and heard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How have you helped a colleague during the past two weeks? How has a colleague offered you help?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Wanda Pirinen<\/strong>
Manager, Wellbeing<\/p>", "protected": false }, "excerpt": { "rendered": "

In this blog, Wellbeing Manager Wanda Pirinen reflects on the importance of helping others in the workplace community.<\/p>", "protected": false }, "author": 5, "featured_media": 1423, "comment_status": "closed", "ping_status": "closed", "sticky": false, "template": "", "format": "standard", "meta": { "_et_pb_use_builder": "off", "_et_pb_old_content": "", "_et_gb_content_width": "", "inline_featured_image": false, "footnotes": "" }, "categories": [ 14, 1 ], "tags": [], "class_list": [ "post-1422", "post", "type-post", "status-publish", "format-standard", "has-post-thumbnail", "hentry", "category-highlighted", "category-uncategorized" ], "featured_image_src": "https:\/\/muratafinland.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Anatomy-of-Helping.png", "featured_image_src_square": "https:\/\/muratafinland.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Anatomy-of-Helping.png", "author_info": { "display_name": "kati", "author_link": "http:\/\/muratafinland.com\/en\/author\/kati\/" }, "_links": { "self": [ { "href": "http:\/\/muratafinland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1422", "targetHints": { "allow": [ "GET" ] } } ], "collection": [ { "href": "http:\/\/muratafinland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts" } ], "about": [ { "href": "http:\/\/muratafinland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post" } ], "author": [ { "embeddable": true, "href": "http:\/\/muratafinland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5" } ], "replies": [ { "embeddable": true, "href": "http:\/\/muratafinland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1422" } ], "version-history": [ { "count": 3, "href": "http:\/\/muratafinland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1422\/revisions" } ], "predecessor-version": [ { "id": 1426, "href": "http:\/\/muratafinland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1422\/revisions\/1426" } ], "wp:featuredmedia": [ { "embeddable": true, "href": "http:\/\/muratafinland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1423" } ], "wp:attachment": [ { "href": "http:\/\/muratafinland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1422" } ], "wp:term": [ { "taxonomy": "category", "embeddable": true, "href": "http:\/\/muratafinland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1422" }, { "taxonomy": "post_tag", "embeddable": true, "href": "http:\/\/muratafinland.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1422" } ], "curies": [ { "name": "wp", "href": "https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}", "templated": true } ] } }