At its core, ubuntu is about relationships, and building relationships is about connecting to each other on a human level. One area of our lives in which relationships are of utmost importance is in the workplace. Whether as employers or employees, being empathetic plays a key role in collaboration, active listening, and more. According to the article below, empathy helps improve communication, strengthens working relationships, boosts creative thinking, increases sales and investment opportunities, enhances customer service, and impacts job interviews.
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“Empathy in the Workplace: Its Important and How To Show It”
Author: Jennifer Herrity, December 30, 2022
From indeed.com
Excerpt
“Empathy is the ability to understand someone else’s feelings and experiences. Being empathetic can allow you to understand someone else’s perspective, strengthen your ability to connect with others, and develop a better worldview. You may better understand that your actions impact other people, which can lead to more productive conversations, especially when interacting with people with different backgrounds and perspectives.”
How to be more empathetic
“There are several ways you can improve your empathetic skills in the workplace. Use these steps to develop your empathy at work:
1. Actively listen
Practice empathy through active listening. Listen attentively to the person you’re communicating with to better understand their question or request before thinking of a response. This strategy enables you to focus only on the other person’s needs and as result, fully understand their feelings and perspective.
Read more: 11 Active Listening Skills To Practice (With Examples)
2. Personalize your communication
When you’re aware of your specific audience, you can start to consider how to best communicate with them, such as changing the words you use based on the expertise of your client or colleague. For example, you may use more industry terms when talking with a coworker, but use simpler, more universal words when pitching to a client. If you’re able to, you may even communicate in a different language when interacting with coworkers or customers whose native language differs from yours.
Related: The Components of Effective Workplace Communication
3. Offer to help
Empathy can also help you understand and address your coworkers’ challenges, such as an increased workload or a personal matter. Demonstrate empathy by offering to help in any way you can. This gesture can show your team members that you are dedicated to ensuring the team’s success and will assist them to reach team goals…”
Read more from “Empathy in the Workplace: Its Important and How To Show It” and learn what other steps you can take to be more empathic in the workplace.
Photo: LinkedIn