Empathy is the ability to sense others' feelings by taking an active interest in their concerns. It's being willing to slip on their shoes in order to fully experience an alternate perspective. Empathy is a key component of authentic relationships and proves valuable in the workplace in promoting employee engagement.  
A Gallup poll in September of 2015 reported that only 32% of U.S. employees are fully engaged in their jobs. "Engaged employees are involved in, enthusiastic about and committed to their work and workplace. Gallup categorizes workers as "engaged" based on their ratings of key workplace elements that predict organizational performance outcomes, such as productivity, profitability and customer engagement. Engaged employees drive the innovation, growth and revenue that their companies need." (http://www.gallup.com/poll/186212/employee-engagement-steady-september.aspx)
I don't know about you, but I find 68% to be a staggering percentage in terms of disengagement at the office. That translates into a lot of payroll dollars being spent unproductively. Take a moment to observe your own team. How engaged are your teammates in the work they do and what role does empathy play in this scenario?
Here are three indicators that you are a part of an empathetic team:
  • You are surrounded by good listeners. People listen not just to interject their ideas or have the next great comeback, but to really understand each other and the motivators behind the spoken word.
  • Judgments are withheld. Do those around you consider a different perspective, or tend to quickly criticize or dismiss ideas opposing their own?
  • Underlying concerns are recognized before they are discussed. Can you tell when something is brewing before the water cooler conversation takes place? Empathetic people can sense emotional undercurrents of their coworkers before they erupt.
If your team could use some improvement in this area, take heart -- empathy can be developed. Assessments that measure emotional intelligence can be a good launch pad to evaluate current empathetic levels of your team. As well, working together with an emotional intelligence coach can prove valuable in taking steps down the road of empathy.