What Is Empathy at Work and Why Most Organisations Get It Wrong

Empathy at work is widely talked about, yet rarely understood in practice. I believe this misunderstanding is one of the main reasons organisations struggle to improve employee engagement, trust, and performance, even when they genuinely want to do better. Too often, empathy is framed as an attitude or a personality trait, rather than what it truly is: a leadership capability that can be learned, developed, and applied deliberately.

At its core, empathy at work is the ability to understand another person’s perspective, context, and experience, and to use that understanding to inform decisions, communication, and leadership behaviour. It is not about agreement, emotional indulgence, or lowering expectations. It is about insight. Empathetic leadership gives leaders access to information that traditional performance metrics and dashboards simply cannot provide.

One of the most common mistakes organisations make is assuming that empathy is synonymous with kindness alone. While kindness may be an outcome of empathy, it is not the definition. Empathy is a skill rooted in neuroscience, shaped by listening, curiosity, and attention. When leaders misunderstand empathy as being soft or permissive, they often avoid developing it altogether, fearing it will weaken authority or accountability. In reality, the opposite is true.

In my experience working with leadership teams globally, organisations that lack empathy often rely heavily on assumptions. Leaders assume what motivates their people, assume why performance has dipped, and assume what employees need in order to re engage. These assumptions are rarely accurate, and they create distance rather than clarity. Empathy replaces assumption with understanding, and understanding improves decision making at every level.

Listening is the gateway to empathy in action. Without listening, empathy remains theoretical. Listening-Led Leadership enables leaders to gather context, notice patterns, and identify issues before they escalate into disengagement or turnover. Employees who feel genuinely listened to are far more likely to speak up, share ideas, and contribute meaningfully to organisational goals. This is not about listening politely, but about listening to understand.

Another reason organisations get empathy wrong is that they treat it as a one off initiative rather than a systemic capability. A single workshop, policy, or wellbeing campaign cannot compensate for leadership behaviours that consistently ignore employee reality. Empathy must be embedded into how leaders communicate, how meetings are run, how feedback is given, and how decisions are explained. It is built through daily behaviour, not declarations.

Neuroscience helps explain why this matters so deeply. Human beings are constantly scanning their environment for cues of safety and belonging. When leaders communicate without empathy, the nervous system shifts into self protection, reducing creativity, collaboration, and cognitive performance. When empathy is present, people feel safer to contribute, challenge, and engage. This directly impacts workplace culture and long term performance.

Empathy also strengthens accountability. When leaders understand the realities their teams are facing, they can set expectations that are both ambitious and achievable. This clarity reduces frustration, builds trust, and enables sustained performance rather than short bursts of effort followed by burnout.

I believe the organisations that thrive in the coming years will be those that stop treating empathy as a soft concept and start developing it as a leadership discipline. Empathy at work is not a moral preference. It is a practical, evidence based capability that shapes how people perform, connect, and stay.

The question is not whether empathy belongs in the workplace but whether leaders are willing to learn how to use it well. Are you seeing this rising in your workplace? And if not, what is stopping the shift?

About Mimi Nicklin:
Mimi Nicklin is a globally recognised keynote speaker, bestselling author, and Founder of Empathy Everywhere, working with organisations worldwide through leadership development, training, keynotes, masterclasses, and webinars. Recognised as the #1 Workplace Wellbeing leader, Mimi has reached over four million people globally through her work in empathetic leadership, listening, and Listening-Led Leadership, helping organisations strengthen employee engagement, workplace culture, and performance in complex, AI driven environments. Her work reframes empathy as a critical leadership capability grounded in neuroscience and applied through practical empathy training and organisational development. With a mission to reconnect one million people by 2028, Mimi Nicklin is emerging as one of the defining human leadership voices of this decade. Find out more via www.empathyeverywhere.co or [email protected]