The following blog submission has been approved by the Board of the Attachment Network of Manitoba

The Healthy Approach

Barbra Bowes

The Healthy Approach was originally posted on The Winnipeg Free Press eEdition by Barbra Bowes, HR practice leader with Legacy Bowes.

IT’S been one year since I began working at home. Over this time, I’ve frequently had calls from various reporters inquiring about the longevity of remote working. My answer has always been that I do see organizations being much more accepting of employees working from home. In fact, I think most leaders have been surprised at how well this new work structure is working. Many employees report they like working at home and I believe the return to the physical workplace may not be as rapid as once believed.

IT’S been one year since I began working at home. Over this time, I’ve frequently had calls from various reporters inquiring about the longevity of remote working. My answer has always been that I do see organizations being much more accepting of employees working from home. In fact, I think most leaders have been surprised at how well this new work structure is working. Many employees report they like working at home and I believe the return to the physical workplace may not be as rapid as once believed.

Yet, what exactly is empathy and compassion? How are these defined? The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines empathy as the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another. It defines compassion as the sympathetic consciousness of others’ distress together with a desire to alleviate it.

So, how does empathy and compassion apply to the work world? Prior to the pandemic, most leaders focused on the economic side of the business rather than seeing empathy and compassion as a key element of their business success. However, the pandemic has forced this traditional success formula to change.

Let’s face it, organizations were shaken up and employers had to scramble to facilitate a work-at-home strategy for their employees. Employees on the other hand were not prepared and found themselves seated across the dining room table with their partner, both working in an uncomfortable environment. Often as well, children struggling with home schooling were tapping their parents on the shoulder demanding attention. Chaos, stress and confusion sometimes filled key parts of the day.

Leaders are now seeing there must be a balance between the typical economic drive of business with the empathy and compassion needed to communicate and support employees in the new world of work. In fact, Michael Ventura, author of Applied Empathy: The New Language of Leadership, suggests that empathy is more than a leadership skill — it’s a business model. A second author, Daniel Goleman, who popularized the concepts of emotional intelligence suggests empathy is not only critical to developing effective relationships but it is critical to smooth operations no matter what industry. In other words, focusing on “dollars and cents” alone no longer works.

So, what does empathy and compassion look like when applied in our new work world? The following will help bring about some understanding.

• Demonstrating sensitivity — This means being sensitive to the well-being of others, noticing changes in behaviour, body language, verbal expression and/or participation in the usual group setting. It’s taking notice when you think that someone is suffering and/or is anxious about something. It’s been in tune with others instead of being constantly preoccupied with your own work and deadlines. It’s all about being observant.
• Being non-judgmental — This means paying less attention to firstimpressions and exploring what is behind the employee behaviour. It means dropping your management role and listening as a friend. It means you need to find some way to validate the employee’s experience and see it as a separate event. It means as a leader you must try to avoid making comparisons and avoid relaying your own similar story; simply listen and avoid making any judgements.
• Make listening a priority — Listening requires that you focus all your attention and energy on the speaker. This means putting your cellphone away and commit to listening. Avoid interrupting while providing non-verbal feedback such as nodding your head or smiling. Be careful about providing any response, let alone a statement suggesting you have had similar experiences as these discount the speaker’s own experience. Wait your turn to talk.
• Accepting distress — Many people just don’t know how to handle someone else’s distress. They don’t know what to say or do. The key is that the only thing you need to do is listen and stay objective. Avoid trying to talk someone out of their distress by suggesting that things can’t be that bad. Doing so discounts their feelings and makes them less likely to listen to you. Let the individual vent their frustrations, nod an awareness but avoid interjecting yourself in their distress.
• Consider compassion training — Believe it or not, compassion can be learned. There are many courses on compassion training, all of which can assist leaders with self-care as well as the ability to demonstrate and apply more compassion and empathy at work. Training includes how to support someone who is suffering and how to take compassionate action.

Using empathy and compassion to connect with employees during a time of distress helps to create a sense of overall safety and security. It helps people feel valued during uncertain times and demonstrates that leaders understand their employee needs. This can simply include individual conversations, group meetings or any activity that allows a leader to hear from employees and allow their voices to be heard.

Thankfully empathy and compassion, a “soft skill” is finally seen as an important leadership skill, one that can be developed and one that should be used at all times. After all, there is more to organizational success than simple economics. People, relationships and the ability to show empathy and compassion is the way to go for the future.

Reference

Bowes, B.J. (2021, February 27). The Healthy Approach. The Winnipeg Free Press. Retrieved from https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/e-edition/eedition.html.