Despite years of studies proving the business value of empathy, many CEOs still treat it like a buzzword or a nice-to-have. But business leaders can’t treat empathy as a casual option anymore.
The overwhelming events of 2020 inspired people to step forward for their beliefs, their values, and themselves in a way that makes clear: We’re not settling for “the way it’s always been” anymore. Not at home, not on the streets, and not at work.
As a result, empathy has unapologetically and firmly moved from being an altruistic option to a business imperative.
What is empathy?
Stripped down to its core, empathy is caring for the person, not just the output. Of course, people show up professionally. But for them to do their best work and stretch to their fullest potential, they need to feel valued for their work and seen for who they are.
That’s done on both a macro and micro levels, such as ongoing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts and how people are treated in day-to-day interactions.
If you ever had a micromanaging manager, felt overworked and didn’t talk to anyone about it because it wouldn’t change a thing, or felt you had to compromise who you are to fit in, then you know what it feels like to work in teams lacking empathy.
Empathy isn’t about being soft or weak. You and a team member don’t have to spend 25 minutes of a 45-minute meeting talking about what’s happening in their personal life or the latest controversy in the news. But you do recognize how external issues may affect their life.
For example, if you know a team member’s brother-in-law is gay, and there’s an increase in anti-gay violence, you can check in by asking, “I know there’s a lot going on—are you okay? How’s your family?”
And if a team member confides they’re a bit unfocused because their father is in the hospital, you could reduce some of their stress by telling their colleagues, “Hey, Zoe is dealing with a family emergency. Can you give her some space by pushing out some deadlines? Handling some of the work yourself? Minimizing meeting requests for the next couple of weeks?”
It’s about you and them having a relationship where you see them and they see you as someone more than a title and set of skills.
Bringing your whole self to work creates authenticity and develops trust. Trust allows you to have stronger relationships, which lead to vulnerability, disclosure, and sharing.
You can’t improve business performance without building these emotional dynamics with the people who do the work. Because trust and vulnerability help people feel safe. Then they’re open to sharing their most creative ideas with you.
As important, they’re open to pushing back by saying things like, “Here’s where I don’t agree,” ”Here’s where I think you can be braver or bolder,” and “Here’s where I think you missed this important data point.”
So, how does caring for individuals drive quantifiable, business-expanding results? It begins with motivation.
Empathy drives motivation
The majority of CEOs (84%) agree that empathy drives business outcomes, but they’re still missing the point: Empathy doesn’t drive outcomes, it drives motivation. 72% of employees agree.
As Businesssolver points out in their State of Workplace Empathy Report, when businesses don’t understand to look at areas that drive motivation, then they miss where they can improve at all levels of the organization. So their efforts will likely fail to produce the desired results.
Someone once pointed out, “No job has a future in it; the future is in the person who does the work.” So, if you expect team members to remain motivated in exchange for a paycheck, what you’ll end up with are people who do enough to get by, but they’re not giving their best.
Even the most enthusiastic employees will lose motivation in time if they feel unsupported and do not respect the company’s practices. But it goes deeper than this. Here’s why motivation matters:
Motivation fosters engaged employees
You know that a motivated employee is an engaged employee. This is where many businesses struggle, as most employees (64%) are disengaged from work. Of those, over half (52%) admit they’re “just showing up.” That’s a lot of untapped employee potential.
It’s not just what you’re missing out on now, it’s also what you risk. As low employee engagement leads to several profit-draining consequences including higher turnover, lower productivity, increased accidents, and lower work quality.
So, why are most employees disengaged? Common reasons include feeling a lack of recognition or that their work has little purpose. They may not have opportunities for advancement and to learn new skills. Or they may think their work has no purpose since it’s not clear how it contributes to a larger goal.
When you lead with empathy, you reduce the risk of employees becoming disengaged because they feel more connected and committed to the organization. This connection motivates them to share ideas, remain open to collaborating with teams, and do their best work. In fact:
- 40% of employees say they would work longer hours for an empathetic employer.
- 78% claim employees who demonstrate empathy at their organization are viewed as better overall performers
As you’ll see next, the benefits of empathy extend beyond having engaged teams.
Engagement facilitates creativity and innovation
One study researched the link between empathy and creativity by dividing the volunteers into two groups. One group was encouraged to consider the feelings and perspectives of others from the beginning of the assignment. The second group did not receive any instructions. The group that focused on others was 78% more creative.
The study found that when you’re aware of other people’s feelings, you’re better able to consider issues from diverse perspectives. And maintaining a wider perspective increases your cognitive flexibility, which may lead to higher creativity—thus bringing about greater innovation.
Empathy drives higher business results
When you focus on empathy, you create a sustainable environment for team members to deliver at their highest potential. Make empathy part of how the entire organization determines its policies and processes and treats its people, vendors, and partners, and you can see improvements across all key business metrics. This Gallup meta-analysis of over 100,000 teams quantifies what’s possible.
You can’t stop a moving train
Frontline workers to executives are asking themselves how work makes them feel each day. And they’re asking if that’s how they want to feel for the next 5, 10, or 20 years. Many are answering no, as evidenced by The Great Resignation.
If you think you can superficially acknowledge your employees’ desires and values, or you think this is a temporary trend to ignore, you’re mistaken.
People want to go to work without compromising who they are. They’re looking at how you treat them as individuals, and they’re also judging the actions you’re taking to create long-term, systemic change. For example:
- How do you show up from an environmental, social, and governance (ESG) perspective? Is ESG part of the company’s core, or do you only act when required to comply?
- How did you take care of your team during COVID-19? Did you allow flexible work hours? Instruct managers to start 1:1s by asking how the person is before diving into project talk? Provide tools or budgets to set up work areas at home?
- How did you handle the racial reckoning in our country last year? Do you care enough about your people to continue engaging in that? Or did you just send one Black Lives Matter email and never talked about it again?
- Are you doing the work to foster not just diversity in getting hired, but also being included and nurtured and grown in ways that are relevant to individual people and/or groupings?
- Even if you offer mental health benefits, does your work culture still stigmatize mental health? Are employees seen as weak or a burden if they need support?
The widespread acceptance of remote work is shifting power from the business to the workers, as remote work gives professionals more opportunities. Instead of being limited to the jobs available locally, they can work with businesses across their country and even the world. Or, they can ditch traditional employment altogether by freelancing full-time.
So, if you’re planning to add headcount shortly, keep in mind that:
- 92% say that when looking for a job, they seek organizations that demonstrate empathy.
- Employees in low-empathy organizations are more than twice as likely to look for new jobs compared to their peers in high-empathy organizations.
In comparison, empathetic organizations will have an easier time retaining and attracting top talent. It’s worth noting that 56% of employees would stay in their jobs if they felt valued.
And employees in high-empathy organizations are 3.75 times more likely to recommend their workplace to someone looking for a job than their counterparts in low-empathy organizations.
Businesses have a lot of work to do
Every company will tell you “Our greatest asset is our people.” Given how expensive it is to employ people or engage with people in any fashion, you need them to perform at their peak for you. It’s no longer a secret weapon to care about your team. It is table stakes for a company that drives impact.
You cannot do it without seeing who they are and appreciating that. When you harness what is unique and amazing about each individual, you can shape a kaleidoscope of highly motivated talent to completely change the trajectory of your organization.
You already know this to be true. You’ve seen it in parts of the organization that are humming. You’ve seen really good managers and recognized how they’re able to connect with their team members and grow them. They’re heralded as “good leaders,” but nobody peeled back the onion to say, “And it’s because in addition to checking in on the project, they’re checking in on the person.”
Successful leaders imbue teams with trust. You can’t build trust without getting to know your team members.
It’s not a single happy hour where you check the box and say see you next quarter. Yes, there’s a balance for each team and industry. So much of it is whether or not it’s genuine. Are you asking how they are today because you care about them as people? Or are you asking because it’s what you’re expected to do now?
The leaders of the future, and frankly, the leaders of the present, must be able to lead with empathy. If you continue to think empathy is weak or not business-like, consider this: If it’s good business to diligently care for the organization’s assets—such as the building, intellectual property, and brand—then doesn’t it make sense to extend that care to your people, who you say is your greatest asset?
