Businessolver, a leader in SaaS-based benefits technology and services, released the full findings from its fifth-annual State of Workplace Empathy Study. This survey of employees, HR professionals, and CEOs across six industries and four generations shows the evolution of how employees and leaders perceive empathy in the workplace. This year’s study proves that empathy at work remains crucially important, yet progress has stalled compared to previous years. While the study was fielded in Q1 of 2020, it reveals key learnings that are relevant now more than ever at a time of increased workforce challenges and economic uncertainty.
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“With five years of data on hand, we know that empathy has become a foundational value in our workplaces,” says Businessolver President and CEO Jon Shanahan. “But the persistent disconnects between leaders and employees that we see in the study data reinforce that more work needs to be done to ensure that empathy infuses our workplace cultures and makes a tangible impact on our workforce. It is even more critical given the increase in mental, physical, and financial stress that everyone is currently experiencing.”
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The disconnect between CEOs and employees continues
Year over year, more than 90% of employees say empathy is important for organizations to demonstrate, but in early 2020, 68% said their organization was empathetic, a 10-point decline over the last two years. At the same time, 90% of CEOs believe their organization is empathetic—highlighting the growing gap between leaders and their workforce. With this gap recorded during a time of economic prosperity, the importance of bridging that gap is now heightened by the current environment.
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