Empathy entails understanding the feelings of other people as well as their emotions. It comes naturally to some, but requires a little bit of work in others. Empathy motivates workers, increases general productivity, and makes life better for people in the workplace.

There are different kinds of empathy:

• • • Cognitive empathy entails understanding another person’s emotional state. It is vital in creating a comfortable and flexible work environment.
    • Emotional empathy can also be referred to as emotional mirroring. It triggers you to have the same emotions as those around you.
    • Compassionate empathy involves experiencing the same emotion another person is experiencing and taking action to help them deal with the emotion.

Here are a few ways you can show empathy in the workplace:

1.Being Quiet, Inside and Out

The workplace can get busy and get stressful. When employees are overworked, they quickly forget to mind their colleague’s feelings. Being quiet can help them calm their thoughts and emotions. Patience can also help workers to manage their emotions. When you are emotionally not there, you should take a walk or just breath in and out.

2. Watch and Listen Carefully

Listening is seeking to understand and not just hearing words. Watching is essential when you are trying to understand the feelings of other people. Body language can tell more about a person’s thoughts and feelings. Employees need to see each other in the workplace more often to build empathy. They can use video conferencing to watch and listen to their colleagues who are located in different locations. Speaking directly to your colleagues can help to understand their feelings better than using messaging services.

3.Emotional Inventory

Having a better understanding of your personal feelings can enable you to notice other’s feelings in the workplace. This is called taking emotional inventory. Taking your own emotional inventory can be done by putting yourself in the shoes of other team members and understanding what they are going through. Another way to build empathy is by being compassionate and considering team concerns.

4.Evaluate Your Instincts

Evaluating your instincts helps you to approach challenging situations empathetically. It means avoiding assumptions and engaging in productive conversations. Being empathetic helps to mind how you talk to other people. Empathy enables colleagues to understand each other better in the workplace. This will improve teamwork and the overall work environment.