In 2023, Let’s Place a Greater Emphasis on Empathy as We Run Our Businesses

It’s no secret that empathy can help people thrive at work. 

According to a 2021 report by global nonprofit Catalyst, 61% “of people with highly empathic senior leaders report often or always being innovative at work,” and 76% of those “with highly empathic senior leaders report often or always being engaged.” And that’s not all. Additionally, the report found that “empathy on the part of both senior leaders and managers mitigates” the “disparate experiences” of employees, “increasing feelings of being respected and valued across gender, race, and ethnicity.” 

But the business benefits of empathy aside, it’s simply a good thing to live by for its own sake. Especially given the current state of the world, we can all be more empathetic to each other. So, in 2023, I will prioritize empathy more as I run my business. Here are three approaches that I’ll use—and I hope other business leaders consider using them as well. 

1. Screening for Empathy During Hiring—and Helping It Grow With Existing Employees

If you plan on hiring new team members in 2023, consider screening for empathy more proactively. 

There are various resources online that offer guidance on the types of questions you can ask candidates during the interview stage to get a sense of how empathetic they are. The career website Indeed, for example, provides a robust list of questions, including “What does empathy mean to you?” and “Describe a time when you had to deliver challenging news to someone.” 

You could also ask questions centered around gratitude, such as “What are three things you are grateful for in your life right now?” and “Do you practice gratitude in your life?” Research has shown how empathy and gratitude are linked. 

Remember, however, that empathy is a skill people can work on. According to research referenced by the American Psychological Association, a “desire to grow in empathy can be a driver in cultivating it.” So, even if a job candidate is not at a high level of empathy, remember that they can develop in that area. 

Your existing team members can work on their empathy, too! Seek ways you can encourage that growth as a business leader. You’re not limited to sticking with empathy training classes for your team. For instance, you can start a fiction book club or begin a workplace volunteering program (both reading fiction and volunteering are two of many activities that can help boost empathy). 

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2. Weaving Empathy Into Core Business Values 

Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Stanford University psychology professor Jamil Zaki explained that his research “demonstrates that empathy is contagious: people ‘catch’ each other’s care and altruism.” 

A business’s core values influence how its team members interact with each other and customers. So, why not build empathy into your core business values? Some suggestions Zaki gave in his HBR article for doing so include leaders “acknowledging” that empathy is a skill that can be developed over time and “drawing attention to the right behaviors.” 

Of course, to truly weave empathy into your core business values, you need to model it as a leader. If you are, say, constantly glossing over your employees’ concerns and speaking to them with a rude tone, don’t be surprised if those behaviors start to permeate the culture at your company. When you communicate with your team members and customers, do so with empathy. Then, to repeat Zaki’s words I referenced earlier, watch as your employees “‘catch’ each other’s care and altruism.” 

3. Praising Employees for Being Thoughtful and Empathetic  

As I was reflecting on how my 2022 went, I realized something. Day to day as I run my business, I tend to praise my employees more for their intellect and success as opposed to for their thoughtfulness and empathy. In 2023, I’m changing that. I’m going to start praising employees more when they demonstrate thoughtfulness and empathy. 

Praise can benefit both parties: the person giving the praise and the person receiving the praise. When you praise someone for a certain behavior, you’re providing positive reinforcement for that behavior; in essence, you are telling the other person that you appreciate what they did and want to see more of it. 

With that said, be careful not to go overboard. Too much praise can lead to negative consequences. As psychotherapist trainer Mark Tyrrell explained in a 2013 blog post, getting “rewarded, whether with money or over-the-top praise, for doing things you really should be doing anyway, can diminish genuine motivation” (emphasis his) and praising someone too much “could actually make them less happy in the long term because it can diminish their capacity to find intrinsic reward in anything” (again, emphasis his). So, praise your employees for their thoughtfulness and empathy, but be mindful of how often you do so. 

When We Nurture Empathy at Work, We Play a Small Role in Bettering the World 

It would be naive to think that nurturing empathy at work will solve the world’s problems. It won’t. But by nurturing empathy at work, we can play a small role in bettering the world—even for one person. 

For example, a more empathetic team member might be more patient with a customer, calmly guiding them toward a solution for their problem. A more empathetic manager might spend some time during a weekly 1:1 asking an employee if everything’s OK and then figuring out a way they can help if things aren’t. By being more empathetic in the workplace, we can brighten the lives of the people we come across. And hopefully, those people will be inspired to pay it forward.