How to boost empathy at work (and why it matters)

The topic of last week’s Coffee & Collaboration was Empathy at Work. What’s your take?

1. Do you work for an empathetic company?
2. Would you consider leaving your job for a more empathetic company?
3. Would you work longer hours for a more empathetic employer?

According to the 2019 Businessolver? State of Workplace Empathy Study, company leaders recognize the value of empathy now, but there is a 20% gap between what the CEOs see and what employees see. In fact, the study reveals the number of people who say they work for an empathetic employer declined 6% last year.

Lest anyone think empathy is just fluff, questions 2 and 3 above impact companies financially. Turnover and effort obviously impact performance. According to the study, 82% of employees would consider leaving their jobs for a more empathetic company and 78% of employees would work longer hours for a more empathetic employer. Huge numbers, right?

We learned more about empathy through a brief video on the four quadrants of empathy.

Our discussion focused on how to improve our own empathy at work. Here are a few of the ideas discussed:

• @JonBachura suggested we notice what other people notice. Doing this would enable us to stay focused on what is most important to others, rather than chiming in with how we see things.
• Use assessments to understand yourself and your team. We use a variety of assessment tools including Myers-Briggs, DISC, 16 Personalities, Lifestyles Inventory, strengths.com, and Predictive Index. (If you need help selecting and facilitating, let me know.)
• Boost knowledge and use of Emotional Intelligence. (We can help with that too.)

Our robust conversation included many more ideas and resources. Watch for news about the next C&C and join the conversation.

#culturematters #leadership #empathyatwork #executivedevelopment #kansascity