Why is EMPATHY important for the employer?
Sensitivity and empathic attitude – does it make sense in the business world? It turns out that yes! Not only that, employers already pay attention to the emotional intelligence of the candidates during recruitment. It is worth starting to practice empathy in everyday business situations.
Empathy is the ability to recognize and empathize with another person’s emotional state. It allows you to be an attentive interlocutor, listen patiently and provide support. In some professions (e.g. teacher, kindergarten teacher, nurse) it is one of the key competencies, but in fact, it plays an important role in every industry and in every position. Emotional intelligence and social competences are checked during interviews and recruitment tests. Why? Because it depends on their level of whether the person will fit into the team and the organizational culture and whether they will properly perform their duties.
There is no doubt that just as the world without empathy seems terrible and disordered, so work without empathy does not seem to make much sense. Above all, compassion is necessary in group work. How to understand and trust each other without it? In order to cooperate well, we must be aware that not everyone feels what we do, and the ability to put ourselves in someone’s place seems even necessary.
Empathy is also necessary when working with clients. If we empathize with their situation, colloquially saying “we will get into his/her shoes”, we will be able to better understand their needs, thus we will offer a tailored solution to the problem. An understood client will trust the employee and will most likely come back to him – she/he will certainly remember that in this place she/he met with an empathic person who helped her/him solve the problem.
Key elements of empathy
Daniel Goleman, the author of the book Emotional Intelligence, identified five key elements of empathy:
- Understanding Others
- Developing Others
- Having a Service Orientation
- Leveraging Diversity
- Political Awareness
To learn more about empathy and about the 5 key elements of empathy check out THIS article.
