Employment Research Institute's Chief Executive Officer, A. Harrison Barnes, in a webinar discussed the importance of being nice to others.
 
When you are nice to people, you invite them to be nice in return.  According to Harrison there are various forms of energy. He firmly believes that when you send out negative energy, it comes right back to you and when you send out positive energy it comes back to you as well. There is nothing more important than having positive energy directed back at you. The more positive energy you have, directed at you, the better your life and everything in it is going to be.

The world exists as exchanges of energy. There is a constant interplay between positive and negative energy in the world, and you want to be on the receiving end of positive energy. This is really the only decent place to be. When positive energy comes to us, we feel better and the world is a better place to us. This simple rule is so easy to follow.
 
You need to be nice to others. This is the most important thing you can do in your job. Let the negative energy of others flow right through you and be nice in response. The way to get ahead is by being liked, not feared and hated.
 
We want to work with people who are nice. Companies need people who are nice. It is important to be nice. Harrison is very clear that being nice does not mean you become a doormat. When you are nice and place the needs of others on the same level as your own, you are simply being smart.
 
Being nice is the smartest thing you can possibly do in your career.