For the past two years, leaders have had to support their teams to adapt to the changes of the pandemic. This has included taking into account the declining mental health of their employees, and being sensitive to people’s anxieties. The empathy this requires is important to good leadership.
Empathy is defined as the capacity to share someone else’s feelings or experiences from their ‘frame of reference’. It is one of the most important social competencies and a way to enhance our communication, show respect and acceptance.
Empathy contributes to positive relationships and organisational cultures and it also drives results.
Basic principles of empathic behaviour are for example understanding others, showing respect, leveraging diversity, taking time to step into another person's shoes and staying positive and patient. Those social skills combined and added in a business environment make communication easier and generate a more friendly atmosphere.
Empathy is important in a business because:
It influences the work morale positively
It is no secret that employees with good morale levels have a better perspective regarding their work and this is often connected to empathy.
Understanding towards colleagues’ perspectives and ideas is a core element of social interactions in the workplace and marketplace. Empathic behaviour positively influences work morale.
Intrinsic motivation grows and through that, productivity increases. This in turn means a more efficient workflow allows a company to grow faster. When employers are able to create an environment based on that kind of mutual trust and respect, employees are more likely to want to stay in the organisation and help it continue to realise its overall goals and vision.
It attracts customers' attention
An empathic environment is a strong foundation for a brand. It entails content employees and builds a good connection to (possible) investors. Just like business partners, customers are attracted to businesses or organisations that live their philosophy and values.
It increases wellbeing
Being in an inclusive and welcoming environment that is big on restorative practice helps with mental health and wellbeing, and reduces stress, allows companies to generate positive relationships internally. It also increases quality engagement and leadership. This in many ways improves relationships with stakeholders and clients.
To build strong relationships between your company and your clients, it is important to foster great internal communication and relationships. Improving the work environment and the relationship between departments will help the whole team to be more empathic with each other, with the customers and their needs.
Consumers no longer buy products; they buy a product/service combination. Businesses need to return-serve and start offering relationships - and this is best done via empathetic actions!