Empathy in the Workplace
Workplace First Responders
I had no idea what to do or say as he lay bleeding on the sidewalk; none of us did. It was a steamy September afternoon and I was sitting behind the bus driver as our bus queued up to leave the parking lot of Noblesville Middle School
There was a sudden dash of movement; an eighth grader darted into the gap between my waiting bus and the next. He was fast, intent on reaching the sports fields across the street. And he didn’t look both ways.
The car didn’t have time to brake; I can still see him floating up and then slamming down, colliding with pavement. We all seemed slow and confused, wanting to help but no idea how.
Then, the first responders appeared. They were quick and sure, stabilizing the bleeding boy to his next level of care. And, in a way, first responders are most helpful because they know what they are and the know what they aren’t.
A first responder is not an orthopedic surgeon or a rehabilitative specialist or even an ambulance driver. My classmate needed all of those people (and more). A first responder has the skills necessary to stabilize a person to their next level of care.
In the social and emotional realm, this is what I want to create through my interactive, human-centric trainings on empathy: workplace first responders.
Sometimes at work, an employee needs a lot of intervention: counseling, medication, ongoing levels of focused care. A workplace first responder should not be a counselor or a pastor or an imam: this gets a person into uncertain legal waters at work.
But other times, an employee needs basic, stabilizing care. The social and emotional equivalent of an ace-wrap and a bandage. This can sound like, “This seems like a really hard day for you. I want to let you know that I care and I want to
Help you with this project (or deliverable)
Reschedule our meeting, it can just be an email
And, if you don’t know what to say, just remember that something is better than nothing. If you often find yourself at a loss for words, fumbling to “make it better”, first, release yourself from the pressure. There aren’t magic words that will suddenly bring back a beloved parent or unwind a devastating diagnosis. Instead, own your limitations while still moving towards the other person: “I don’t even know what to say right now, but I just want to let you know that I care.”
As we move towards creating cultures of care, remember that empathy isn’t some squishy personality trait, rather, it’s a skillset that we can (and should) be growing in because it directly affects our people and our bottom line.
For more guidance on why empathy is the most important leadership skill, check out this Forbes article on workplace empathy
