2023 State of Workplace Empathy Report

Listen to Rae Shanahan, Businessolver's Chief Strategy Officer, and Maria Ross, host of "Empathy Edge", discuss how employers can leverage this year's Empathy data to close the gap with their employees.

Rae Shanahan, Businessolver’s Chief Strategy Officer, contributed to the “Empathy that Counts” report, discussing the relevance and importance of empathy in today’s workplaces.

Disconnected empathy perceptions are driving a wedge in many workplace cultures. As CEOs view themselves as more empathetic, HR and employee perceptions decline in the wake of misaligned priorities, benefits, and return to office.

68% of HR professionals view their CEO as empathetic, a 16-point decline from 2022 and the lowest levels ever reported. In contrast, 92% of CEOs view their HR professionals as empathetic, a 27-point jump from 2022.

61% of HR professionals have experienced a mental health issue in the past year, up nearly 10 points from 2022. And it's no surprise: HR professionals are stuck navigating conflicting priorities between CEOs and employees alongside an ever-growing workload.

This year's data reveals drastic decline in HR's empathy perceptions across the board, reaching their lowest levels since 2017. While empathy has ebbed and flowed these past eight years, these steep declines indicate an empathy crisis.

Conflicting priorities between the C-suite, employees, and HR are taking a toll on culture and retention, especially as CEOs push for RTO amidst a turbulent economy. 

Overall, 8 in 10 employees and HR professionals feel they have more employment choices and are confident they can find new, more empathetic employers.

Our eighth annual State of Workplace Empathy Mental Health report takes a look at the conflicting priorities HR is managing, how declining empathy perceptions are coinciding with increased mental health issues, and how the empathy disconnect is crushing culture.

This year's Empathy data revealed significant setbacks in DEIB efforts due to layoffs, inflation, and return to office. While there is a consensus among all surveyed groups about the importance of implementing DEIB initiatives, the visibility and action on the DEIB front have diminished.

This year's State of Workplace Empathy underscored HR's burden and how many of these teams are reaching their breaking point. While each organization's needs are different, technology is often table stakes for driving consistency, efficiency, and success. An empathetic HR tech stack is key to reducing HR's administrative workload so they can dig deeper into their work as organizational strategists.