“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”
In this well-known quote from To Kill a Mockingbird, the book’s protagonist, Atticus Finch, is referring to empathy: the ability to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes and feel what they feel. Empathy involves sharing and relating to another person’s emotions as if one has experienced those emotions themselves.
Practicing empathy is akin to muscles we can grow with consistent exercise. Whether it be through meditation or taking time to reflect, each of us has the power to cultivate it. Empathy can help us build better relationships, make more ethical decisions, and improve the places where we live and work.
Empathy, sympathy, and compassion are often used interchangeably, but it is important to note these terms are not necessarily synonymous. Compassion is a desire to act upon and reduce another person’s sufferings. Another term closely associated with empathy is sympathy, or feeling pity or concern for someone’s else’s misfortunes.
To distinguish between the three, consider this: Someone may feel sympathy for the homeless, and their compassion may drive them to donate their resources to a homeless shelter. On the other hand, a person who has lost a loved one might empathize with their friend who has just lost a parent to cancer.
According to Sharon Steed’s “Empathy at Work,” there is also a specific type of empathy called corporate empathy, which places emphasis on employees feeling heard, respected, and engaged. It is actively exercising open communication, and a baseline level of respect with other colleagues. It is at the intersection of cognitive culture, or a company’s stated culture (e.g. as their mission and values), and emotional culture, or what the company’s culture actually is (e.g. behaviors and actions). Corporate empathy can be demonstrated if cognitive and emotional cultures are aligned.
In fact, corporate empathy can be exercised in various ways. For example, a employee could offer to assist another coworker with their workload. Simply offering to patiently listen to a coworker’s viewpoints, questions, or concerns would also be an appropriate display of empathy.
Empathy requires us to struggle alongside our colleagues and put in a conscious effort to see the world from others’ eyes. While empathy may not have a seemingly direct effect on company’s revenues, practicing empathy can certainly foster a more motivated, productive, and satisfied workforce.
If exercising empathy is an invaluable activity, what are companies doing to combat harassment? Are conventional workplace training programs encouraging both individual contributors and managers to cultivate empathy?
To address systemic issues, such as racism and sexism, traditional methods (e.g. seminars and presentations) have focused on unconscious bias training, which aim to expose individuals’ underlying prejudices. Although there are good intentions behind these programs, most methods are often ineffective at best, and, at worst, perpetuate the toxic assumptions they are trying to dispel.
An example of a traditional training program is the one mandated by the state of California. In its current state, it is a narrated slideshow with videos and quiz questions outlining a variety of instances of misconduct. For example, when participating in the training, employees do not have the chance to actively interact with the scenarios, or respond to the simulations through diverse perspectives. Ultimately, while the training presents a few opportunities to reflect on one’s own behavior, we do not believe it truly promotes empathy in the workplace.
The ineffectiveness of conventional workplace training is the inspiration for Sisu VR’s mission. Our team is working to inspire our clients to work with transparency, open-mindedness, and, most importantly, empathy, through the Empower Now Program (ENP). Sisu VR began after our CEO, Jocelyn Tan, experienced a series of severe workplace harassment incidents. Jocelyn recognized first-hand how harmful and debilitating a workplace without empathy could become, and felt empowered to make a stand against workplace apathy.
Our company’s namesake, “Sisu,” is a Finnish term that means “grit, bravery, and resilience” and “hope in the face of adversity.” Combating apathy in the workplace may be difficult, but it must be done. Here at Sisu VR, we aim to lead by example and empathy, in hopes we can further empower workforces to do the same. If you would like to take a step closer to an empowered and empathetic workforce, learn more at www.SisuVR.com.
