Excessive empathy is unproductive at work
- 2 years ago
Empathy is a quality that is increasingly valued and sought after in the world of work.
It refers to the ability to put oneself in the place of others (with listening, authenticity and benevolence).
If empathic management is beneficial for the well-being of the team (it improves the efficiency and motivation of employees), it can become harmful when empathy becomes toxic.
This is the case:
- when it is imposed: we pretend to be concerned about the opinion/feeling of others, only to ignore it.
- when excessive.
In the latter case, empathy can be detrimental to the company's objectives.
We are more concerned with the well-being of of the employees rather than the objectives set.
On the other hand, empathy requires a lot of energy and is sometimes difficult to manage when we suck in the emotions of everyone around us.
It often leads to self-forgetfulness, work stress and compassion fatigue.
According to an American study, empathy would even be detrimental to work-life balance.
and private life.
Empathy also has its limits because it is often variable geometry since it differs according to our interlocutors.
In other words, this selective empathy can lead to unequal treatment.
Finally, too much empathy can hinder the development of employee autonomy or be perceived as intrusive.
It refers to the ability to put oneself in the place of others (with listening, authenticity and benevolence).
If empathic management is beneficial for the well-being of the team (it improves the efficiency and motivation of employees), it can become harmful when empathy becomes toxic.
This is the case:
- when it is imposed: we pretend to be concerned about the opinion/feeling of others, only to ignore it.
- when excessive.
In the latter case, empathy can be detrimental to the company's objectives.
We are more concerned with the well-being of of the employees rather than the objectives set.
On the other hand, empathy requires a lot of energy and is sometimes difficult to manage when we suck in the emotions of everyone around us.
It often leads to self-forgetfulness, work stress and compassion fatigue.
According to an American study, empathy would even be detrimental to work-life balance.
and private life.
Empathy also has its limits because it is often variable geometry since it differs according to our interlocutors.
In other words, this selective empathy can lead to unequal treatment.
Finally, too much empathy can hinder the development of employee autonomy or be perceived as intrusive.