Empathy in the workplace: What, where, when, why and how

The average person spends so much time at work, what better place to learn and practice empathy for the good of mankind?

There has been a lot of talk recently about how much more we need empathy. If we are to believe what is in the news, then the world is only a cruel and hateful place to live. No doubt we see some of it in one form or the other, in many places we frequent.

What is empathy?

Empathy is walking a mile in the other person’s shoe. It is “I feel your pain”. We can never really know what the other person is feeling at that exact moment but through empathy we attempt understand it by viewing the situation from their perspective. There are 3 kinds of empathy: cognitive, emotional and compassionate. I will give an example of how they work using the following scenario:

A friend comes down with an illness. Upon hearing the news, we are immediately saddened and sympathetic. We start to imagine what this person is going through and how this will affect their life; this is cognitive empathy. We may also remember the times we got sick and try to connect the experiences or just imagine how we would feel if this were to happen to us right now; this is emotional empathy. Finally we start to take action; visiting, bringing them food, reminding them to take their medication; this is compassionate empathy.

How do we use empathy more effectively?

It widely said that the lack of empathy displayed today stems from too much connectivity to technology and less connectivity with one another. In everyday context, think back to the times we were so busy staring at a screen that we didn’t acknowledge someone walking up to us and striking up a conversation.

As I was taking on and growing in my managerial roles, I would always interrupt others because as soon as they opened their mouths to speak to me I assumed that I knew what they wanted. Discussions would take much longer to reach a conclusion and it frustrated those around me. I didn’t listen to understand, I listened to reply. These types of conversations were not only counterproductive but also lacking in empathy.

I have since learned a lot, enough that I can share with others. Developing an empathic approach is vital to improving our people skills because empathy is an essential part of emotional intelligence. As we empathize more with employees, they become more engaged, loyal and committed to their work. This leads to productivity and better customer service.

To recap here are some practical ways to employ empathy in the workplace:

• Listen to others’ entire viewpoint and find the point of their communication. Good listening skills require us to listen with our eyes (read their body language) and our hearts (consider their feelings).
• Keep our egos and attitudes in check so that they don’t impair our ability to empathize out of fear of being wrong.
• Validate experiences. Team members can have opposing opinions from ours. We do not have to agree with them but we can acknowledge their experiences and reasons for believing in what they do.
• Ask when in doubt. There is no better person explain what they are going through that the person going through it. It’s okay to ask, “How are you feeling?” so you’re not stuck trying to figure it out.

Got any more tips on how to lead more empathetically? Share them in the comment section below. Thanks!