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“Empathy is one of
our greatest tools of business that is most underused”
- Daniel Lubetzky
Remember when we were kids, our elders always asked us to be empathic towards each other? But now these days, as we grow up, that feeling of affection or the need to practice empathy is vanishing from our inner selves, especially when we talk about showing empathy in modern workplaces.
You might also agree with the fact that people have left those times behind when they used to understand others' point of view and then react. The busier people are getting in the contemporary workplace, the less they are focusing on keeping the traits alive that make them human and empathy is one of them.
However, before we dive into the blog emphasizing the benefits of empathy in the workplace, it is essential to understand what exactly empathy means. To define, empathy is the ability to understand others’ feelings and emotions by getting into their shoes before reacting to certain situations.
To continue, businesses are not realizing that these human traits such as empathy and affection are crucial in the workplace. The practices of these traits not only make us better humans but also have incredible benefits that contribute to the growth of the business as well.
You don’t have to believe us now but by the end of this blog, we are sure that you would have no choice but to start working and being empathetic towards your employees in the workplace if you are not already not doing so.
Having said that,
this blog will effectively highlight the 5 advantages for employers in
enhancing empathy in the workplace. So, let us dive right into the blog and
find out the hidden benefits of empathy.
5 Notable Benefits of Empathy in The Workplace
- Increases Sense of Belongingness
A sense of belongingness has actually been one of the basic needs of humans since forever. We, humans, are social animals and have always craved that social interaction and acceptance from our different social circles. This is exactly what a sense of belongingness means. When someone has a high sense of belongingness in a place, it means they feel that their presence is valued and appreciated by people around them. Especially when talking about workplaces, a sense of belongingness among your employees is more important than anything else because it has lots of benefits for you.
For example, we all know the performance of employees is crucial for the growth of the business. That being the case, the BetterUp study concluded that a sense of belongingness among employees increases their job performance by 56%.
To elaborate, if you are an employer, think of this in this way, why would employees give their best for a workplace they don’t feel belonged? That makes sense, right? Now, this feeling of being valued and appreciated will enter the picture only when you will understand the point of view of others. In short, when you will empathize with your employees.
When empathy enters the scene and you will effectively appreciate and value the opinion of your employees, you will experience a substantial difference in their behavior. When they feel that their presence and opinion matter, it will assist in making them more active and productive.
This will lead to enhancing their morale and confidence in working in the workplace. This boosted morale and enhanced motivation will lead to boosting their productivity in the environment which will ultimately result in enhanced growth of the organization.
- Boosts Employer Brand of The Company
It is an undeniable fact that the success of your company depends on your reputation in the market. Besides, this good reputation matters not only for your customers but also for future employees. This is the reason why many big companies such as Google, Apple, and Tesla are investing so much in building a positive employer brand. Because these companies are dream brands for so many employees, indeed they are doing this employer branding thing right.
But now the question arises, how can a candidate know that you are not an empathetic employer? The answer is through word-of-mouth marketing from your current employees. Their review and opinions matter a lot in shaping the employer brand of your business. To elaborate, whenever your current or former employee writes reviews about your company, they write them for future employees.
In fact, as per the statistics by Glassdoor, 86% of job seekers check online reviews before applying for a job in the company. So, next time you deny being empathetic towards your employees, remember that your employees are only one click away from posting a bad review about you on the internet.
This implies that if you successfully build the reputation of being a company that keeps its employees’ emotions as a priority, it will contribute to building a positive employer brand. This positive employer brand will assist you in attracting some of the best talents that will assist in escalating the growth of your business to another level. That’s one of the ultimate SMART goals of your business, right?
- Escalates Retention of Employees
With the contemporary workplaces becoming employee-centric, hiring employees was already tough but now retaining them has even become tougher. So, you might hire the best talent, but if you are unable to retain them, all your efforts in hiring become futile. This is the reason why businesses are focusing on applying various strategies and tactics that will contribute to enhancing the retention rate of the company.
To continue, when it comes to employee retention the leadership theories of the employers matter a lot. One common trait in all of these leaders such as Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, and Reed Hastings is that they are empathetic leaders. They understand and listen to the viewpoint of their employees and that’s why they are successful leaders in the contemporary world. Besides, who wants to work with a bad boss?
If we look at the latest review of almost 34 million employees, 3 of the top 5 reasons for resignations were related to lack of empathy. This is the reason if you wish to retain your dream team, you have to become a dream boss first. When you will emerge as an empathic leader in the organization, it will assist in keeping your audience engaged.
The reason is when you will understand the emotions of your employees, they will be able to connect with you better. This strong connection will assist in keeping them retained for a long time.
- Enhances Collaboration Among Teams
Did you know that as per statistics, 86% of employees and executives cite lack of collaboration or ineffective communication for workplace failures? And this is true in every possible sense like how are you going to build a successful company if you do not have an effective collaborative team?
As a leader, your responsibility does not end with being an empathetic leader, you need to create a culture where your employees also empathize with each other. Moreover, this should happen irrespective of what background they belong to. This culture where employees empathize with each other and will respect each other will bring a sense of positivity to the workplace.
When a culture will be positive and employees will be happy and satisfied, it will assist in encouraging them to get involved in the team. This will enhance employee engagement in the workplace.
Moreover, when employees will be engaged and involved in a workplace, it will result in high zeal and commitment in employees to work towards the growth of the company. This high commitment and engagement will ensure that the teams will trust each other and will collaborate effectively.
- Ensures Better Customer Service
Stephen Covey once correctly quoted, "Always treat your employees exactly as you want them to treat your best customers." The rule here is very simple, if you will not listen to your employees, they will not listen to your customers and after all, they are the ones that are going to deal with your customers. This is where empathy will be the ultimate superpower that will assist you in taking your customer service to the next level of success.
To elaborate, if you will empathize with your employees well, it will ensure that they have a good boss. When employees are satisfied with their boss, it will contribute to their overall job satisfaction.
If employees are happy with their work, they will talk to your customer with a positive attitude and energy. Otherwise, if your employees feel that their employees don’t care about their employees' feelings, they would also do the same with the customers.
Besides, we all know how crucial it is to maintain a positive attitude while dealing with customers. This is the reason it is really crucial for you to empathize with your employees so that they empathize with your customers as well. This will contribute to their positive customer experience. If customers will have a positive experience with your business, it will contribute to enhancing the customer retention rate of your company.
To encapsulate, workplaces are changing dynamically but one thing that can never change is that we are humans and we need to have an effective ability to empathize with each other. Moreover, the above-given benefits clearly state that bringing the essential practice of empathy into the picture will only deliver some of the effective benefits to your workplace. These benefits will also assist you in enhancing the growth of your business.
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