Most of us have found ourselves in a situation that prevents us from achieving our best at work. We fail to meet targets, we experience stress and anxiety, and we can’t seem to get on with our colleagues or boss. While many of us delegate the responsibility for understanding these problems to individual employees, you may be surprised to learn that an estimated 85% of the problems in the workplace are caused by internal issues.
But if these internal issues are left untreated, they will have a domino effect on our individual performance at work. We simply cannot be our best in this situation, and with internal team conflict becoming more common, it’s no wonder that in today’s fast-paced work environment nearly half of us are stressed by our jobs.
The good news is that companies all over the world are starting to understand this, and one way they are combatting this issue is by implementing empathy training into their business culture.
So what exactly does empathy in the workplace look like, and why is it a much-needed benefit to have in the workplace?
To answer this, we scoured through various literature on empathy training for organizations and found that there are many benefits of empathy training within the workplace – one notable example being its impact on team culture.
What is Empathy and Why Does It Matter in The Workplace?
Empathy can be defined as the ability to understand and share the feelings of another person. But what makes empathy different from sympathy? Sympathy is defined as feeling of pity or sorrow shared by two people, whereas empathy is the ability to feel for another person’s situation and share their feelings.
But why does this matter in today’s workplace? Because it can help employees better understand their colleagues, which results in happier workplaces. And happier employees tend to be more engaged and productive employees.
Is There A Difference Between Empathy and Sympathy?
As mentioned, empathy is defined as the ability to share in another person’s feelings, while sympathy is feeling sorrow for another person. This means that employees with high levels of empathy are better at understanding how their colleagues feel, but don’t necessarily feel the same as them.
Employees with high levels of sympathy, on the other hand, tend to experience similar feelings as their colleagues and may even need to take time away from work to ‘recharge’.
Can Empathy Be Learnt?
Research from the Harvard Business Review indicates that empathy is a skill, not an innate quality. This means that it can be learnt and improved upon with effort.
So how do you improve empathy in the workplace?
Research from NeuroscienceNews suggests that teaching employees about the impact of emotions on behavior and how to respond to others’ emotions can help them to develop empathy skills.
Empathy is a learnable skill and there are many different ways to practice and hone your ability to connect with those around you.
– Meditation can be helpful because it allows you to take time where you are present in the moment, without being distracted by thoughts of other things that have nothing to do with what’s going on around you.
– Practice gratitude . Taking time each day to sit down and write out things that you are grateful for can help bring more positivity into your life and put you in a better mood.
– Listen actively . When you’re having a conversation with someone, take time to listen to what they are saying. Don’t think about how you will respond or what witty thing you can say next. Just focus on them for that moment and hear what they have to say. Not only will this help them feel heard, but it will also help you remember what they said later on down the road.
– Set personal boundaries . A lack of empathy can often stem from a person’s inability to separate themselves from others. Setting personal boundaries can help you remove yourself from difficult situations and provide you with more objectivity about the situation at hand.
What is a Workplace Empathy Survey?
A workplace empathy survey can be a great way for your company to assess your employees’ empathy levels, providing an accurate insight into the effectiveness of your workplace culture.
Here are some key questions you can ask in a workplace empathy survey:
- How do you feel when speaking to co-workers?
- How often are you engaged with other co-workers while working on projects?
- Do you know how your behavior affects your co-workers?
- How often do you feel stressed at work?
Answers to these questions can help employers get a better understanding of how their employees interact with each other and how they are feeling in the workplace. Asking these simple questions can also provide insight into areas your team may need support in, so consider them when looking for ways to improve your employees’ empathy levels.
Is Empathy Training a Good Thing?
Surprisingly, the answer isn’t as straightforward as you might think. There is a lot of debate in the scientific community about whether empathy training is a good thing – some research suggests that it could have negative effects on organizational culture, while other studies say it is beneficial to build empathy with your team.
So, whether or not it is a good idea for your company to introduce empathy training into its workplace culture comes down to how you interpret the research and what will work best for your employees and business. For example, if your organization doesn’t already have a focus on teamwork within its culture, introducing empathy into the workplace may be difficult for some employees who are not used to it.
So how can your company implement empathy training into the workplace?
Here are a few practical suggestions:
Schedule At Least One Weekly Meeting Dedicated to Empathy Training
Researchers have found that clients who learn how to work together as a team experience an increase in both internal and customer success.
Practice Empathy Within Your Company Culture Every Day by Taking the Time to Listen to Others
As a manager, you have the power to create an open workplace where employees feel comfortable sharing their ideas. Developing empathy skills will become very useful in these situations. You can also participate in a company-wide empathy initiative by delegating a certain time to hold a weekly or monthly meeting.
Include Empathy Exercises in Your Employee Onboarding Process
By doing this, you will be equipping your employees with the most relevant skills they need to succeed at work. You can start them off with simple things such as watching a video and then practicing techniques such as active listening and reflective learning.
You should also encourage them to discuss the videos with other people in the company so that they can better understand their colleagues’ backgrounds, views and experiences.
Start by Reaching Out to Your Employees One-on-One So They Can Feel Comfortable Sharing Their Ideas
As a manager, I was able to witness the influence of empathy first-hand. When we launched an empathy training program for our employees, it created more opportunities within our team to discuss their thoughts and feelings. Since they felt safe sharing these things with one another, they could focus on growing as individuals and giving their best to the company.
Over time, our employees began to build strong relationships with each other which allowed them to have more innovative conversations about how they could better help our customers achieve success with us.
Why empathy is important in healthcare?
As mentioned before, empathy training is the process of learning how to communicate effectively with others.
It can be extremely useful in many different work environments but particularly within healthcare because it helps your team understand what your patients are going through. This allows them to provide better patient care which will ultimately increase customer satisfaction.
We’ve all heard an anecdote about how one nurse took the time to put themselves in their patient’s shoes and this is why they were able to provide exceptional care. Unfortunately, it’s not true for every interaction with every health practitioner because empathy isn’t always programmed into traditional medical training.
Researchers have found that empathy has a positive effect on patient satisfaction, which is why any healthcare-related business should prioritize it within their culture. For example, if you find that your team isn’t providing exceptional care to your customers, you can introduce empathy training into the workplace and watch as relationships between your employees improve.
This is because empathy has been shown to create a more collaborative environment where employees and patients feel safe and comfortable sharing their thoughts and feelings.
By making empathy training a priority in your organization, you will begin to see many benefits such as:
- Increased patient satisfaction
- Greater sense of community
- Increased retention rates
- Decreased turnover rate
- Higher productivity levels
Over time, it can also help you improve your customer acquisition rate as people will naturally want to become part of an organization that cares about its employees and their customers.
Most of us know how it feels like working at a company where you’re not respected, listened to or valued. This is why empathy is such an important concept in today’s culture because it can help you change
Why empathy is important in leadership?
When it comes to leading a team, there are many benefits associated with having empathy.
Having worked closely with leaders who’ve displayed various forms of empathy over the years, I’ve noticed that it’s been instrumental in helping me connect with them on a deeper level. By doing this, they were able to gain my trust and appreciation which helped improve our working relationship.
The next time you’re in a difficult situation with your team, try to take a step back and think about how they may be feeling which will allow you to respond more effectively.
For example, if someone is having trouble understanding an assignment, leading them through it by asking questions such as “what do you understand so far?” or “how would you approach this problem if you were me?”
How Can Employees Practice Empathy?
Empathic listening is one of the best ways to build rapport with others. When you are empathically listening, you are not only paying attention to what your colleague or client is saying but also demonstrating that you understand their perspective.
Developing empathy skills will allow employees to better collaborate with others when there are misunderstandings in the workplace. It will also encourage them to have conversations about their thoughts and feelings, which ultimately leads to a team that can more effectively work together.
Remember: being empathetic doesn’t mean employees always agree with one another. It simply gives them the ability to see other points of view by understanding where their colleagues are coming from.
Whether you decide to have a formal empathy training program or simply encourage all of your employees to have more empathy towards their colleagues, it will lead to a happier and healthier workplace.
Empathic Listening:
Empathic listening is beneficial for both the speaker and the listener. The person being listened to feels understood, appreciated, validated and respected. The listener benefits by obtaining correct information so that they can be of assistance.
Research has found that people are naturally good at empathic listening but need reminding to use these skills in everyday conversations. They tend to use uncomprehending, or what some refer to as “interrogative” listening, where they simply nod their head and say “uhuh.”
As you can see, empathy is an incredibly useful skill that everyone can benefit from. It will not only help you work better with your teammates but also improve the relationships you have with your customers and employees.
It’s important to note that empathy is not the same thing as sympathy; it is simply understanding another person’s point of view, while still maintaining your own personality and emotions.
Where is empathy in the brain:
For many years, there was a common misconception that we were born with a finite amount of empathy and if we used it up, it would be gone forever. However, recent discoveries have shed light on the true function of our brain and its relationship to empathy.
In neuroscience, there is a concept called mirror neurons which are considered “neurons that fire when another person is observed doing an action.” This makes it easier for us to understand other people’s feelings and emotions.
Mirror neurons are located in the premotor cortex, which is part of the frontal lobe, located just behind your forehead. The premotor cortex takes in information from around the outside world and processes them so you can execute an action.
For example, imagine you are at your favorite coffee shop and you see someone trip over their shoelace on the way to the counter. Your mirror neurons will fire as you witness this person tripping and it will help prepare your body for what you need to do next. If they fall, you might reach out to help them up. If they end up successfully getting what they want, you might smile and say “that’s a close one.”
In essence, your brain is creating a simulation of the action that you are witnessing in real time.
As we look at this concept, it becomes obvious as to why empathizing with someone else’s situation can be so helpful. When we imagine ourselves in their shoes and feel what they might be feeling, it gives us the ability to make more informed decisions.
For example, if you’re a manager and one of your employees is struggling with some personal issues that are spilling over into their work life, empathizing with them will help you understand how best to approach them.
Employees who feel understood and validated by their employer report higher levels of commitment to the company, which ultimately leads to a better work environment for everyone. Empathizing with your employees will help create an inclusive culture where people not only enjoy working together but also care about one another’s well-being outside of the workplace.
The benefits of empathy:
Empathy is being able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and understand what they might be experiencing. This helps you connect with those around you and can lead to a healthier work environment where people don’t feel alone or isolated.
A lack of empathy can cause problems as well. According to studies, workplaces that have a “cutthroat” attitude and create a culture that doesn’t value teamwork or compassion for one another suffer from higher turnover rates.
Instead of focusing on the bigger picture, employees become more concerned with their own personal progress which can lead to infighting and backstabbing within the company.
Empathy is important because it can help you:
– Improve the relationships you have with your employees, customers and colleagues
– Make better decisions because you understand how they might affect others – Extend support to those who need it during difficult times
