Surely you have heard someone say that the company at which you work is your second home. We spend much time at our workplaces, that is why generating a comfortable climate is key for our employees to give the best of themselves. This is not an easy task, as it is normal for human beings to have conflicts, and if they are not found in time company productivity can suffer.
We should always keep in mind that conflicts are part of normal life and there are different reasons for them: Personal issues of employees, conflicts between colleagues, between employees and their superiors etc.We cannot ignore the fact that the advent of working from home, forcefully implemented due to COVID-19, has amplified certain problems, for example work-life balance or the increase of personal expenses that companies had not addressed until now. These circumstances create situations that affect the health of a business.
What can we do to unlock this type of conflict? Empathy is a key element to resolving these situations. Put yourself in the shoes of your employee, taking care of frustrations that come up at work or establishing clean and direct communication are items that make the difference between a healthy and strong business structure or one that will fall apart. In this way, HR should spend much time paying attention to detecting and anticipating possible problems that can come up in the relationship between the company and its employees. Below, we will explain these ideas.
How to Apply Empathy Within the Working Environment
- What does the other person feel? The leitmotiv of empathy. There are moments where an employee makes mistakes, not because of a lack of talent or work, but due to external factors that hinder advance in their work. It is not always easy to separate the personal life from the profesional, there are situations that spill over. As a company, it is good to understand this to try and create an environment where people don’t feel constant pressure.
- Letting off frustration. In the same way we celebrate our successes, we need to give negative feelings, such as frustration, their space. Knowing that you can speak with a manager about issues at work relieves tension. For the employees because they feel they work without pressure, which allows them to be more resolute. For the manager because they know the issues their employees have and can give them tools to better help them achieve their goals.
- A lack of communication leads, among other issues, to a lack of information. This can lead to bigger problems that are difficult to resolve as we don’t know where and with whom these issues start. This in turn will generate even more conflict and a lack of trust in others. It is recommendable that company and employees commit to transparency to avoid headaches.
If the issue turns out to be really difficult to solve, it is always possible to revert to a mediator, who, as an impartial and neutral third party, will lay out possible solutions so all parties can come to a win-win agreement.