Dive Brief:
- A new survey of 1,000 HR leaders, business executives and employees has identified a seriously wide gap between CEOs and employees when it comes to workplace empathy.
- The first Workplace Empathy Monitor, from Businessolver, a cloud-based benefits administration technology provider, found that while 60% of CEOs view their organization as empathetic, only one-in-four employees agree.
- The survey also found that 31% of workers believe the employers only care about profits and don't care as much about employees – a clear sign empathy may need a boost.
Dive Insight:
According to Jon Shanahan, Businessolver CEO, the CEO vs. employee empathy gap can lead to decreased satisfaction and lowered engagement levels, not to mention higher turnover and low morale. "Employees want their priorities, expectations and needs to be heard and understood by their leadership, and leaders are struggling with what to do and say that shows empathy to their employees," Shanahan said in a press release.
He adds that the good news is most everyone agrees that workplace empathy is important, but even so, employers have much work to do to close that gap. He believes HR leaders are best positioned to help C-Suite and other leaders gain more insight into the ability to identify with another's feelings. When part of the culture, empathy can unlock enterprise value from human capital in areas that include talent acquisition, retention and engagement.
As a financial plus, the report found nearly half of employees would be willing to work longer hours for an empathetic employer, 33% would change to more empathetic employers for equal pay, and 20% would switch companies for less pay.
