Empathy in the Workplace

]This article misunderstands empathy]

HR professionals play key roles within their organizations, which often means juggling multiple deadlines, handling emergent situations and managing daily administrative tasks. Under these demands, it is common for HR professionals to struggle with burnout, but this can have negative consequences throughout an entire business.

Below, members of Forbes Human Resources Council share key strategies for how HR professionals can safeguard against burnout. With their advice, your organization can take steps to bolster its HR team and prevent the negative impacts of burnout and empathy fatigue.

Empathy, both within the team and towards customers, is a key element of an effective engineering culture.

Empathy enables transparency and transparency enables healthy feedback cycles within a team.

Moving from a group of individuals to a high-performing team can be achieved rapidly, but it requires deliberate leadership, along with an aligned goal and aligned purpose

Metrics matter for developer experience, and measuring the wrong things makes problems worse not better

The biggest bottleneck in developer experience is communication, ensuring we have the right kind of communication, not just the amount of communication

Empathy and understanding are the glue that holds the modern workplace together. More than a nice-to-have, they're the foundation on which future business success is built. How do we know? Eighty-seven percent of employees agree they're the cornerstone of inclusivity.

by Soulaima Gourani
As leaders, we must embrace this shift towards empathetic leadership to meet the evolving needs of our teams and organizations.

Empathic leadership isn't just a bonus—it's a necessity. Employees are no longer satisfied with distant, detached bosses; they yearn for leaders who understand and share their feelings.

However, this demand for empathy can be a double-edged sword for managers.

"I feel like I'm never enough," confessed one Fortune 100 executive, expressing the common sentiment that any team setback feels like a personal failure.

 by Casey Nilsson

During a lively breakout session at the 27th annual Women’s Summit® on March 14, design thinking expert and professor of Psychology, Allison Butler Ph.D., shared ways leaders can harness the power of human-centered design to manage high-performing teams at work. 

“There’s less micromanaging because you are empowering people to be observant, to be curious, to see the world, and to generate their own ideas," she told the audience, a largely novice group of 50 attendees packed into a classroom in the Quinlan/Brown Academic Innovation Center. “Less apathy, more empathy.”

Dear Friends 
Our Empathy Center Mountain Lion (cougar) is still hanging around. Just saw it on the camera again a couple days ago. Let's give it a name.  Email me your ideas for a name?

We finished the Empathy Book Authors Summit. See the videos and reviews below.  Our next Summit is May 4 on Empaths, and is highlighting a new book by Judith Orloff, The Genius of Empathy.

I hope to see you in the upcoming workshops and trainings. Do contact me if you want to host some workshops at the Center.

Warmly,
Edwin Rutsch
Director: The Empathy Center
Co-Creating the Empathy Movement

by Marc Berman

Beyond collaboration to create a deep bond among team members, empathy is the foundation of successful teamwork. Empathy is not only a desired quality in high-performing teams but also a fundamental component supporting productive cooperation, trust, and communication. Team members can better understand emotions, desires, and motives by seeing the world from each other’s viewpoints.

Empathy creates the foundation for a peaceful and effective team atmosphere where members collaborate well and encourage and support one another as they strive toward common objectives. The unifying factor that turns a group of people with different backgrounds and abilities into a cohesive team capable of overcoming obstacles and producing outstanding outcomes is empathy.

Demonstrating empathetic leadership in 2024
Here’s how leaders can demonstrate empathy to their workers this year, as Rachel Wells, CEO of Rachel Wells Coaching, shared via Forbes:

Employ active listening.
Imagine yourself in workers’ shoes for a minute.
Think holistically about steps you can take to actively support your team members, relevant to their individual circumstances and performance levels.
Communicate empathy verbally.
Promote work-life balance.

Understanding Empathy
Empathy is a widely misunderstood concept in marketing and beyond. Empathizing with someone does not mean you blindly agree with their thoughts and opinions. Instead, true empathy is about understanding those around you.

The University of California’s Greater Good Research Center defines empathy as “the ability to sense other people’s emotions, coupled with the ability to imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling.”

The value of empathy as a professional skill
Certain topics (like equity release where a family home is involved) may trigger fear and anxiety. Or clients may feel uncomfortable in a conversation involving confusing or unfamiliar financial terms.

Clients may resist having substantive conversations for a variety of reasons.

Through emotional empathy, though, an adviser will be better placed to understand a client’s individual perspective, recognise why they feel a certain way, and encourage them to share the thoughts and feelings that may make them feel vulnerable.

by Marc Berman

Beyond collaboration to create a deep bond among team members, empathy is the foundation of successful teamwork. Empathy is not only a desired quality in high-performing teams but also a fundamental component supporting productive cooperation, trust, and communication. Team members can better understand emotions, desires, and motives by seeing the world from each other’s viewpoints.

Empathy creates the foundation for a peaceful and effective team atmosphere where members collaborate well and encourage and support one another as they strive toward common objectives. The unifying factor that turns a group of people with different backgrounds and abilities into a cohesive team capable of overcoming obstacles and producing outstanding outcomes is empathy.

HR professionals play key roles within their organizations, which often means juggling multiple deadlines, handling emergent situations and managing daily administrative tasks. Under these demands, it is common for HR professionals to struggle with burnout, but this can have negative consequences throughout an entire business.

Below, members of Forbes Human Resources Council share key strategies for how HR professionals can safeguard against burnout. With their advice, your organization can take steps to bolster its HR team and prevent the negative impacts of burnout and empathy fatigue.

1. Avoid Empathy Loss By Prioritizing Mental Health

BY MARTIN RUST 

Empathy-based leadership is increasingly recognized as a valuable approach in the business world, where traditional strategic plans often fall short.

The importance of an empathy-based approach to running a business
In all that we encounter, from the significant to the seemingly inconsequential, it's crucial to acknowledge that at every turn, it's about the people. In my experience interacting with communities in conflict and post-conflict zones, understanding is vital, particularly when we're poised to make key decisions. Empathy ought to be the guiding force behind our every action, steering us through each decision we face.

Navigating these pivotal moments requires a grasp of what matters. It might appear obvious, but amidst the chaos of daily challenges, this lucidity enables us to sift through the noise and distractions, honing in on what's essential: the well-being and consideration of those around us.

Is Empathy Redundant for Successful Leadership?
Is empathy essential in the workplace, or is it more of a hindrance?

In research fields, empathy is “hot.” Psychologists and neuroscientists have published considerable ongoing studies in fields as far-ranging as aesthetic experience to sports to leadership. Certainly within the business environment, conversations around empathy have become a prominent topic of discussion.

In practice, a lack of empathy can take multiple forms. From a customer service perspective, it can be talking to a staff member and feeling like they aren’t listening. From a language perspective, it could be reading a company’s social media page and seeing robotic, corporate language that takes the humanity out of business. And from a leadership perspective, it looks like people feeling they don’t have a voice and not being able to speak up in meetings.

Elevating Team Dynamics with Empathy
Empathy within leadership extends far beyond mere understanding; it actively shapes and elevates team dynamics, fostering a workspace where collaboration and mutual respect flourish. Dr. Bharucha keenly observes that Nadella’s empathetic approach has significantly improved Microsoft’s internal relationships, creating a harmonious work environment where each member feels genuinely supported and empowered to take initiative.

This nurturing atmosphere has led to increased productivity and a more cohesive team spirit, proving that when leaders treat empathy as a foundational value, they lay the groundwork for a more dynamic and engaged workforce. Moreover, Dr. Bharucha appreciates how this focus on empathy encourages diversity of thought, allowing for a richer tapestry of ideas and solutions that propel the company forward in innovative ways.

Empathy is a crucial quality for effective leadership as it fosters trust, collaboration, and a positive organizational culture. Empathetic leaders understand and respond to the emotions, needs, and concerns of their team members. This leads to enhanced trust, improved communication, greater engagement, enhanced collaboration, better problem-solving, reduced conflict, and increased innovation..

Practical Ways to Lead with Empathy
1. Active Listening: Practice active listening by giving your full attention to team members when they speak. Avoid interrupting and ask clarifying questions to ensure you understand their perspectives.

2. Put Yourself in Their Shoes: Try to see situations from your team member's point of view. Consider their emotions, motivations, and challenges when making decisions or providing feedback.

By Jamil Zaki

When I started studying empathy, nearly 20 years ago, its status in the workplace was controversial. Many people believed that empathic leadership — which draws on the ability to understand, care about, and vicariously experience the emotions of others — was too “soft” for the hard-charging, competitive world of business.

By now dozens of studies have demonstrated the opposite. Empathy is not a weakness but something of a workplace superpower. Employees are more satisfied in their jobs, more willing to take creative risks, and more likely to help their colleagues if they work in empathic organisations. They are far less likely to report severe burnout or to develop physical symptoms of stress and are more resilient in the face of adversity.

by Andrea Vrbanac
There’s an intricate dance at play between empathy and accountability in business – one which HR is destined to act out every single day. One person who knows this well is Andrea Vrbanac, VP of people and culture at Axonify.

Within the fast-paced tech sector, one plagued by layoffs and redundancies, understanding empathy’s role in performance management is critical. In 2023, Telus, Lyft, BuzzFeed and Accenture – to name a few – all laid off employees – with the number of layoffs reaching well into the thousands across the globe.

What is empathy and why is it important for leaders?
Empathy is the capacity to share and understand the feelings of another. To be empathetic means to be aware of, and sensitive to, the feelings of someone else by placing yourself in their shoes. Empathy can be difficult to learn because it requires several other soft skills such as good communication and listening ability, that many leaders are not trained in.

In some ways, empathy is a type of meditation. It requires you to tune out your thoughts and feelings about an experience or situation so that you can be fully present for someone else. When we interviewed Scilla Elworthy, a Three Times Nobel Peace Prize nominee, she noted how leaders who do not work on their inner emotions can unconsciously project their critical thoughts when talking to others.

by Judith Orloff

Stress, burnout, and mental health concerns permeate workplaces today. In the post-pandemic era, many people are struggling to define what kind of job and setting — virtual, in person, or hybrid — makes the most sense for them. Though global workplace policies remain in flux, many bosses continue to be accommodating and are showing greater empathy for other team members’ needs.

At this crucial turning point, we need empathic leaders with innovative management styles to motivate teams and provide regular moments of connection and caring, as well as global leaders who can help create a more loving, unified, and cooperative world. Oprah Winfrey says, “Leadership is all about empathy. It’s all about the ability to connect with people for the purpose of inspiring and empowering their lives.”

By Jamil Zaki

When I started studying empathy, nearly 20 years ago, its status in the workplace was controversial. Many people believed that empathic leadership — which draws on the ability to understand, care about, and vicariously experience the emotions of others — was too “soft” for the hard-charging, competitive world of business.

By now dozens of studies have demonstrated the opposite. Empathy is not a weakness but something of a workplace superpower. Employees are more satisfied in their jobs, more willing to take creative risks, and more likely to help their colleagues if they work in empathic organisations. They are far less likely to report severe burnout or to develop physical symptoms of stress and are more resilient in the face of adversity.

To create an empathetic and understanding workplace culture, HR leaders must listen to employees and encourage them to bring their whole selves to work. Employee experience technology is key to uncovering new workplace wellbeing challenges and facilitating productive conversations.

“What are employees going to say when we empower them to tell us things?” is a question that keeps many HR leaders up at night – and for good reason. Organisations that understand the power of a positive employee experience know that employees who feel heard and valued create change; they fuel greater productivity, positive customer experiences and better business outcomes.