CEOs and HR pros struggling with workplace empathy
Empathy – the ability to temporarily take another person’s perspective and see their point of view – has been increasingly recognized as a pivotal leadership effectiveness tool in today’s global market. But research in the U.S. shows that CEOs and HR professionals are struggling with empathy.
According to Businessolver’s sixth annual State of Workplace Empathy study, workplace empathy improved over the past year but concerning gaps still exist. Key drivers of empathy in the workforce – HR professionals and CEOs – say they are struggling to reconcile their workforces’ need for empathy with how to demonstrate it.
68% of CEOs say they fear they will be less respected if they show empathy in the workplace.
CEOs and HR professionals are struggling with empathy
According to the study, 68% of CEOs admitted they fear they will be less respected if they show empathy in the workplace – a 31 point increase over 2020.
Both HR professionals and CEOs said they personally struggle with demonstrating empathy. Seven in 10 CEOs said it’s hard to consistently show empathy in their working life – a 29 point increase from 2020 – and over half of HR professionals agree, representing a 13-point increase.
Even though CEOs recognise the difficulty of consistently expressing empathy and the fear of judgement involved, just half of them believe that the state of empathy in U.S. organisations is sufficient, marking the lowest point in the six years of the study.
Researchers say that this may be because CEOs have greater levels of visibility into the programs and offerings that make workplaces empathetic.
A glaring contradiction: employees consider their employers empathetic
On the other hand, employee empathy ratings of their companies and CEOs rebounded in 2021. 72% of employees rated their organizations as empathetic, four percentage points higher than the prior year; 72% also said their CEOs were empathetic – a full nine percentage points higher.
Researchers attribute this contradiction to the fact that most employers have implemented policies around remote work and flexible hours due to the pandemic. “It’s clear from our data that flexibility was the hallmark of empathetic work environments in 2021,” the report says.
According to the survey, 93% of employees said that having the ability to work remotely showed an employer’s empathy; yet only half of employees report actually having this option. 40% of employees reported they were given flexible schedules or deadlines due to COVID-19.
89% of employees who had the option to work remotely report satisfaction with their employer.
DEI efforts aren’t reaching far enough
The State of Workplace Empathy data confirms that people feel strongly that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs foster a more empathetic workplace. But while DEI programs are collectively viewed as important and empathetic, the awareness gap between employees, HR professionals, and CEOs of such offerings continues to widen.
According to the study, 96% of CEOs and 91% of HR professionals believe their organization is inclusive of everyone, compared to 80% of employees. At the same time, there is a 33-point gap between employees and CEOs who say that their organization has some sort of DEI program.
In addition, Black and Latinx employees report a higher awareness of DEI programs compared to white employees, indicating, according to researchers, an opportunity for companies to raise DEI visibility, foster cultural education, and better promote BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) allyship among employees.
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