Empathy is a business skill

A large body of research shows that empathy is a skill that can be learned and developed. Catalyst surveyed nearly 900 US employees working across industries to understand how having an empathic leader affected their experiences at work. Allyson Zimmermann writes that empathy is a hard business skill that affects an organisation’s bottom line by increasing productivity, creativity and employee engagement.  

 
With the COVID-19 pandemic blurring the lines between our work and home lives, empathy in the workplace has helped organisations to navigate the boundaries of work and home and support employees at this time of crisis.

Empathy is an important business skill that increases retention, drives innovation and supports employees’ wellbeing, especially during times of crisis. It is not a so-called soft skill, but rather a hard business skill that impacts an organisation’s bottom line.

Many believe empathy is an innate trait, rather than a skill, and that it cannot be learned. However, a large body of research shows that it is a skill that can be learned and developed. A new Catalyst report by Tara Van Bommel surveyed nearly 900 US employees working across industries to understand how having an empathic leader affected their experiences at work.

The report found that when employees had empathic leaders they reported that their company demonstrated respect for their life circumstances and supported their life and work needs. However, employees whose leaders did not demonstrate empathy did not feel respected or able to balance life and work needs.

The study defines empathy as being able to connect with others to identify and understand their thoughts, perspectives, and emotions and being able to demonstrate that understanding with intention, care and concern. It also defines three types of empathy:

 
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Πηγή: blogs.lse.ac.uk