Empathy at Work
April 3, 2023
Empathy—the ability to put oneself in another person’s shoes and understand how they feel on an emotional level—is an important component of an emotionally intelligent and psychologically safe workplace that encourages communication and cooperation, conflict management, healthy bystander intervention, and inclusion.
The stress caused by a lack of empathy on the job takes a toll on employees’ mental and physical health, it lowers morale and productivity, and it increases absenteeism and burnout. Lack of empathy also adversely effects the health of organizations in terms of recruitment and retention, and increases medical costs and the risk of inappropriate (even illegal) conduct at work.
But the good news is that workplace empathy is a skill that can be developed, it can spread when compassionate people lead by example, and empathy can start with HR.
HR professionals can model empathetic behavior and be empathy leaders. They must not only implement and support their organization’s goals, they must also put themselves in the employees’ place and help ensure a positive work life by supporting such concerns as fair and competitive wages, proper working conditions, and opportunities for advancement.
HR can facilitate an empathetic approach in the workplace by encouraging the inclusion of an empathetic workplace in their organization’s mission statement. They can foster empathy between managers and employees by instituting protocols for more collaborative, less formal, and ongoing communication between them, rather than simply relying on traditional performance reviews. And they can keep an eye out for and support empathetic leaders within their organizations.
An upskilled and reskilled workforce provides significant competitive benefits for organizations, and many personal benefits for employees as well. HR can lead the way.