Empathy In Workplace Culture Needs To Be Part Of Your Company’s DNA

Where caring is more needed every day, the thing that needs to impact business is empathy in workplace culture. Being empathetic is never a bad thing. Leaders who are empathetic to their followers, generally speaking, get better results. People need to know you care about them if they work for you, that is just proven business psychology. There is more to it than just deciding, “We’re a company that displays empathy in workplace culture.” That’s what it means to go from something that sounds great at a meeting to your employees seeing empathy displayed. 

Why does this seem to be such a hot issue now? Isn’t caring about your employees just something everyone generally knows you should do? Not really. We might think we are doing an excellent job of being a caring employer. What action are we taking to support that belief?

The Internet is flooded with mean messages and warring opinions, especially topics of a political nature. Is today’s worker is looking for a little kindness at work to combat the inflammatory behavior they see online?

There is more to empathy in workplace culture than mere words. We need to do more for employees to feel better about themselves and the world around them. Empathy in workplace culture is proven to help a company reduce stress in the workplace. Empathy creates better team collaboration, and enhance employee resiliency. When employees see empathy in the workplace, as a rule, your company’s productivity will improve.

Empathy In Workplace Culture Must Be Executed, Not Just Talked About  

What does it take to instill empathy in your company’s workplace culture enough to see a positive outcome? It takes leadership, self-reflection, and a desire to change. It also takes the belief that empathy in workplace culture can happen. Everything change-driven starts at the top. If management alignment is in place for seeing empathy in the workplace through, then expect positive things to happen. 

Once management is on board with empathy in workplace culture, it’s time to put a plan in place for a rollout, execution, and follow-through. If you want to measure success, then you have to understand what it will look like.

Assessing the current state of empathy in workplace culture now will tell you a lot about where you need to start making changes. Employees who have been driven by competitiveness will need a lot more than some cute slogans and posters. There are resources on how to turn the tide on workplace culture to one of empathy. Once you understand where the changes need to start psychologically in the workplace, it’s time to think about what the company does now to show its employees they are cared for.

Benefits Are The First Line Of Defense In Empathy For Employees 

When you say you care about your employees, what would they say lets them know this is true? What do you think they would say if you asked them that question? If you are not currently offering employee benefits or the benefits you have are leaving much to be desired, it’s time to start thinking about what impact that is having on your workplace culture. When it comes to costs for benefits, no one likes to think that what they are providing may actually be negatively impacting their employees. Employees will tell you inadequate benefits can be worse than no benefits at all. 

Many small business owners are happy to be able to offer any benefits and sour when employees complain. This negatively impacts empathy in workplace culture because it doesn’t create a feeling being understood in what is needed. 

If benefits costs and empathy in the workplace are colliding, it is time to think about a PEO. Many entrepreneurs are not aware of the exceptional value a PEO can bring to their workplace. How would providing the same benefits as your biggest competitor impact your workplace culture? 

Having the right benefits at a cost that exceeds everyone’s expectations is a positive step in the right direction. Empathy in workplace culture takes real skin in the game. Find out more about what kinds of plans PEOs have to let your employees know you care without killing your profits. Contact us today to start saving your workplace culture and your benefits budget.