Empathy within the remote work environment: 

Empathy is the ability to understand other people’s experiences and perspectives. It’s one of the corner stones of emotional intelligence. It’s usually described as putting yourself in the shoes of other people, genuinely understanding their emotions and imagining how they feel. For humans, it’s important to have empathy so as to build up connections and forge bonds. When a workplace involves empathy, it’s expected that happiness and productivity increases. To demonstrate a positive workplace culture, it’s essential to show an understanding of the experiences of your colleagues. Since that remote working might lead to feelings of social isolation among employees as when they are working from home they’re not communicating face to face as they used to in office. Hence empathy matters in remote work. 

Even though leaders are using online tools to compensate for the office communication. Such tools can’t capture and express the human traits as empathy and emotions. Moreover, without the emotions and the sense of understanding your employees in the remote work environment, they will feel zoned out. So when it comes to remote work, the need for empathy is highly increasing.In addition to that, one of the best ways to face challenges in the remote work environment is through building up empathy in your virtual team.

As a leader, lack of empathy in the virtual environment will negatively impact your employees. As such lower productivity levels, burnout and higher rate of turnover. Also when the team itself lacks empathy, this increases the probability of the existence of team conflicts. As each team member would be dealing with their own personal issues and forget to see how other team members are feeling. The duty of creating and boosting empathy in the remote team falls upon the leader.

5 ways to boost empathy within the remote work environment:

1. Regularly check on your employees:

An important thing to demonstrate in your remote environment is to regularly communicate on daily basis. It could be one to one meeting or a group meeting that would help your employees stay on track and be aware of the work that needs to be done. It could also allow you to check on your employees and know how they are coping with their lives. You could also send an email at the end and beginning of the day to inform your employees about the tasks and projects. In addition to that you could simply check up on them in the emails.

2. Grant your employees opportunities to socialize:

It’s essential to dedicate some time for your employees to socialize with one another, especially in stressful periods of work. Such opportunities would help your employees speak about other topics not related to work. Make time at the beginning of the meeting to ask each one of your employees about how they are doing. You could also ask your employees on Monday about how was their weekend going so far. Such simple tasks help boost empathy and eliminate chances of isolation and loneliness.

3. Let your employees ask for help and be available:

Asking for help is essential for the well-being and success of your employees. Make things easier for your employees to exchange help. You could dedicate some time in the meeting for your employees to ask for help and show gratitude for the help they have received.Employees also need to be aware of the best way to reach out to you. So clearly announce the times in which you would be available, it could be through a shared calendar or email. In addition to that, offer the range of methods through which your employees could contact you.

4. Be ready to offer support as a form of empathy which matters in the remote work:

Make sure that you ask your employees about how they are doing and ways in which you can help them. It’s essential to show your employees empathy and offer them emotional support. While asking them how they are doing, you need to be listening actively to them especially if they are struggling. Offering one to one meeting with each employee would help them discuss their concerns with you. If an employee is facing stress, make sure to help them with a plan or tips to manage their stress.

5. Pay attention to details:

Non-verbal communication as body language and facial expressions speak during video conferences. So as a leader, you need to pay attention to your employees as they speak during the video conferences. As such they might be showing signs of stress or burnout. In such case you need to follow up with them by simply informing them about their own body language. Let them know that you care and that their mental health and happiness in the workplace is a priority. 

Empathy matters in the remote work, therefore it’s essential to have empathy in your team. Here are 5 ways in which you can as a leader boost empathy in your virtual work environment.