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As downsizing and economic uncertainty shake up the workplace, employees wonder if 鈥榚mpathetic鈥� leaders are telling the truth.

Massive layoffs in 2023 were a wake-up call for over 200,000 employees of tech giants like Amazon, Microsoft and Google, as well as fintech startups. Feelings of shock and betrayal replaced the trust workers once had in their employers鈥攁nd who could blame them? The tech industry has been notorious for its empathetic culture, perks, and commitment to employees鈥� well-being.

At Salesforce, many of the 8,000 laid-off workers complained the company鈥檚 鈥渢ouchy-feely鈥� culture was a fa莽ade (Fortune, April/May 2023). CEO Marc Benioff, a self-described 鈥渆mpathetic鈥� leader who spent decades developing a we鈥檙e-all-in-this-together family culture, was forced to justify Salesforce鈥檚 first-ever layoffs to shaken workers.

The truth, and nothing but the truth

From corporate downsizing to a slowing economy, it鈥檚 no wonder employees have lost some of the psychological safety they once had. As trust slides, so does their job satisfaction, productivity, creativity and innovation. Employees surveyed in the 2023 Ernst & Young鈥檚 Empathy in Business report overwhelmingly agreed that there鈥檚 a lot of talk about empathy but not enough follow-through. In fact, over half of employees surveyed (52%) perceive corporate attempts at empathy as inauthentic (an increase from 46% in 2021).

52% of employees perceive corporate attempts at empathy to be inauthentic.

2023 Ernst & Young鈥檚 Empathy听in Business report

And in Businessolver鈥檚 2023 State of Workplace Empathy report, the number of respondents who believed their company cared about them was at an all-time low: Only 66% believed they worked in an empathetic workplace鈥攁 substantial drop from 78% five years ago.

Employees report a lack of consistency when it comes to company promises, and this has a way of breaking down a culture of empathy. For example, recent return-to-office mandates have had a head-spinning effect on workers who relied on the flexibility of previously instituted hybrid models. (In Businessolver鈥檚 report, 96% of respondents considered flexible working hours the most empathetic benefit an employer can offer.)

Sensitivity and authenticity

Time and again research has shown that for businesses to be agile and adaptable, company leaders must provide transparency and psychological safety. Rather than focus solely on employee output, empathetic leaders put themselves in employees鈥� shoes. They listen, they鈥檙e approachable, and they鈥檙e flexible. As a result, their authenticity improves retention, performance, morale, motivation and collaboration鈥攍eading to substantial business outcomes.听

鈥淗ow to be a good leader is how to be a good human,鈥� says Dejun 鈥淭ony鈥� Kong, an associate professor of organizational leadership and informational analytics at Leeds. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about how responsive you are to other people鈥檚 concerns鈥攖he basis of any relationship. People want to be heard and understood.鈥�

Kong teaches Leeds鈥� Executive Leadership course and challenges students to imagine what kind of leaders they want to be. Strong leadership, he says, comes from self-awareness and reflection on one鈥檚 strengths and weaknesses.

His work on trust in the workplace鈥攈ow it can predict a company鈥檚 performance during times of great stress, such as a pandemic, economic crisis or political upheaval鈥攈as won the Most Influential Article Award and a鈥疊est Paper Award from the Academy of Management鈥檚 Conflict Management Division.

Kong is now studying a new model for how companies can build systems and structures that cultivate a trusting culture. He says human resources staff will play a big part in creating systemic change that鈥檚 self-sustaining in maintaining an empathetic work environment. This, combined with leadership training, could positively influence the psychology, attitudes and behaviors of employees.

He points out that in recent years, the pandemic鈥檚 impact on the workplace has prompted a great need for empathetic leaders who can help employees adapt to the changing business environment. This requires a special skill set, and empathy tops the list.

Indeed, it is what leaders must get right.