An empathetic leadership style can help employees reach their full potential, strengthen relationships among teams and increase performance. In fact, a recent study has found that empathetic companies perform 20% higher than their non-empathetic counterparts. When employees feel they are better supported and understood by management, they are more likely to take risks and collaborate, and they’re more receptive to the concerns of others within their team or department. If empathy isn’t exemplified at a company, employees may feel burned out, misunderstood or disengaged from company initiatives or departmental goals, which could lead to a decrease in overall work performance company-wide. In order to encourage high performance among employees, it’s imperative to promote an empathetic work culture.
An empathetic work culture can promote understanding and support between leadership and employees that may enhance continuity between teams and overall team performance. Employees who feel cared for on a deeper level by their company tend to feel greater job satisfaction and a deeper trust with their employer. Creating an empathetic culture at your company can result in:
The success of an empathetic work culture is strongly dependent on the effort of leadership teams. It is the responsibility of management to promote and execute empathy throughout the company to ensure a positive work culture for employees to thrive.
An empathetic work culture begins with leadership teams taking the initiative and creating deeper relationships with their employees. To cultivate an empathetic work culture at your company, assist your leadership teams in executing the following action items:
It’s important for both leadership teams and employees to be transparent about their emotions. For more information regarding empathy in the workplace, contact Associated Underwriters Insurance today.
