The World Health Organization estimates that mental health disorders cost over US$2 trillion every year in lost work productivity alone. That's about 6% of global GDP, an alarming concern that employers should adopt empathetic leadership.
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Empathetic leadership is a style of management that focuses on the needs, feelings, and perspectives of employees. It’s about connecting with employees at an emotional level, showing them that you understand their situations and challenges. Empathetic leaders are able to connect with their employees on an emotional level and create environments where they feel understood and supported. This type of relationship can strengthen employee loyalty, foster teamwork, improve communication and boost productivity.
The value of empathetic leadership
When you're a leader, you are responsible for the well-being of those who work for you. The ability to empathize with your team members is a crucial component of being an effective leader because it allows you to better understand their needs and concerns, as well as what motivates them. This will increase their satisfaction with the company as a whole and make them more likely to stay loyal when changes occur in the future.
Empathetic leaders are more likely to build trust among employees, which can help create a positive work environment where people feel comfortable sharing ideas or concerns openly without fear of judgment or reprimand from leadership figures above them.
As an employer, it is prudent to know that your employees’ mental health goes beyond their job performance. It is a lot more than just how they feel on Monday morning. It has the potential to impact their overall well-being and, therefore, their job performance, engagement, loyalty, and retention.
But what are those reasons? Well, here are just some of them:
Empathetic leadership improves employee engagement
Employee engagement is a measure of how satisfied employees are at their jobs. It's important because it can affect how engaged you are as a leader, which in turn, affects your ability to build an engaged team. When you have better working relationships with your teams, they're more likely to be productive and work together toward common goals.
47% of people with highly empathic managers report often or always being innovative at work compared to only 13% of people with less empathic managers. 67% of people with highly empathic managers report often or always being engaged, compared to only 24% of people with less empathic managers. (source: catalyst.org)
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Empathetic leadership leads to increased productivity
Empathetic leaders are more likely to improve efficiency and productivity, which is a big deal for companies. In fact, emotional intelligence (EQ) has been proven to have a direct correlation with job success across industries. You might be surprised by how much this can benefit your company:
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Employees feel comfortable enough to voice their opinion without fear of being reprimanded or fired. This leads to more effective communication and collaboration among team members.
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It also helps build trust in management, making it easier for employees to openly communicate with their managers without fear of negative consequences. This improves work/life balance at work as well as job satisfaction overall, which in turn makes for happier employees.
Empathetic leadership builds loyal teams
Empathetic leadership builds trust and loyalty. If you want your employees to stick around, it's important that they feel like they can trust you. Empathy is one of the strongest foundations for building this trust. Say, when your employees know that you are listening to them, and genuinely care about their well-being or challenges at work or in life outside of work (or both!), they will feel much more comfortable about sharing with you if something comes up that needs to be addressed or worked through. This can help create a positive work environment where people feel listened to and cared for by their leader.
An empathetic work environment can lead to greater employee happiness and job security
Empathetic leaders have a better understanding of the needs of their employees. They understand that people have different motivations, and they use this information to help employees find fulfillment in their work. This can lead to happier employees who feel valued, leading them to stay with your company longer.
Conclusion
There are many traits that make a good leader, but perhaps the most important one is empathy. Empathetic leaders are able to look beyond themselves and what's going on in their organization and put themselves in the shoes of their employees. While there have been notable advances in this area over the last decade, as more business models restructure themselves to shift their focus from profits to people, there is still room for improvement. More forward-thinking leaders could stand to benefit tremendously from nurturing the mental health of their employees through empathetic leadership.
