Empathy pays—and companies that don’t recognize its value are paying the price.
Empathy isn’t just good in theory. Our 10th annual report reveals how U.S. organizations viewed as unempathetic are risking billions through employee turnover, mental health issues, workplace toxicity, and more—yet nearly 60% of CEOs still say empathy is a perk.
Employees at Unempathetic Workplaces Are 1.5X More Likely to Quit, Costing U.S. Companies Billions
Empathy drives revenue
27% of employees say their organization is unempathetic, making them 1.5X more likely to change jobs in the next 6 months—equating to $180 billion unempathetic organizations risk annually in attrition costs.
Employees at Unempathetic Orgs Are 3X More Likely to Report Toxic Workplaces
Empathy drives mental wellbeing and culture
Unempathetic organizations come with costs beyond attrition: 3X higher toxicity and 1.3X more mental health issues, impacting absenteeism and productivity. Overall, nearly one-quarter of employees and HR professionals say their workplace is toxic.
CEOs Who Say Their Organization is Empathetic Are Half as Likely to Have Experienced Layoffs in the Past Year
Empathy drives better business results
CEOs at empathetic organizations report 2.4X fewer cuts to employee benefits, 2X higher likelihood of investing in benefits and wellness programs, and 2X increased employee recruiting efforts—all pointing to company growth.
Employees at Empathetic Organizations Are 4.3X More Likely to View Their CEO as Empathetic
Empathy drives connection
Employees at empathetic employers are 4X more likely to say their CEO is empathetic. But when empathy is lacking at work, employees are 2X more likely to say they feel disconnected from leadership.
62% of HR professionals, 42% of Employees, and 46% of CEOs Say RTO Policies Negatively Impact Their Mental Health
Empathy drives retention
Return-to-office (RTO) mandates are taking a toll on mental wellbeing, but RTO is also a driver of attrition: 60% of remote/hybrid employees and 74% of remote/hybrid HR say they would leave if their employer required them to work full-time in-office.
CEOs Who Say Their Organization is Empathetic Are Half as Likely to Have Experienced Layoffs in the Past Year
Empathy drives mental wellbeing and culture
Unempathetic organizations come with costs beyond attrition: 3X higher toxicity and 1.3X more mental health issues, impacting absenteeism and productivity. Overall, nearly one-quarter of employees and HR professionals say their workplace is toxic.
CEOs Who Say Their Organization is Empathetic Are Half as Likely to Have Experienced Layoffs in the Past Year
Empathy drives mental wellbeing and culture
Unempathetic organizations come with costs beyond attrition: 3X higher toxicity and 1.3X more mental health issues, impacting absenteeism and productivity. Overall, nearly one-quarter of employees and HR professionals say their workplace is toxic.
CEOs Who Say Their Organization is Empathetic Are Half as Likely to Have Experienced Layoffs in the Past Year
Empathy drives mental wellbeing and culture
Unempathetic organizations come with costs beyond attrition: 3X higher toxicity and 1.3X more mental health issues, impacting absenteeism and productivity. Overall, nearly one-quarter of employees and HR professionals say their workplace is toxic.
CEOs Who Say Their Organization is Empathetic Are Half as Likely to Have Experienced Layoffs in the Past Year
Empathy drives mental wellbeing and culture
Unempathetic organizations come with costs beyond attrition: 3X higher toxicity and 1.3X more mental health issues, impacting absenteeism and productivity. Overall, nearly one-quarter of employees and HR professionals say their workplace is toxic.
CEOs Who Say Their Organization is Empathetic Are Half as Likely to Have Experienced Layoffs in the Past Year
Empathy drives mental wellbeing and culture
Unempathetic organizations come with costs beyond attrition: 3X higher toxicity and 1.3X more mental health issues, impacting absenteeism and productivity. Overall, nearly one-quarter of employees and HR professionals say their workplace is toxic.
Empathy Trends Worth Celebrating
While there’s work to be done, findings also show significant wins on the empathy front:
Organizations Evolving
63% of employees say U.S. organizations are evolving with the needs of working households—a 180-degree change from our inaugural report in 2016 when 60% of employees said employers were not evolving.
Financial Performance and Empathy
More CEOs believe a company’s financial performance is tied to empathy (89%, +7 points YOY); and the highest number of employees ever (74%) say empathy is linked to financial performance.
Displaying Empathy at Work
All audiences are becoming more comfortable with displaying empathy at work—with 50- and 22-point drops since 2022 among CEOs and HR professionals, respectively, who say it’s difficult to demonstrate empathy in their day-to-day at work.
What Does 10 Years of Empathy Look Like?
Gaps in perceptions of organizational empathy among CEOs, HR professionals, and employees have averaged around 14 points over the past 10 years, with record empathy gaps recorded in 2023 during the RTO push. HR’s perceptions are significantly more volatile but have stabilized the last two years.
Click below to see how empathy perceptions have ebbed and flowed in U.S. workplaces across 10 years.
2016 Empathy Trends
%
Employers aren't evolving
60% of respondents said employers aren’t evolving with the needs of working households.
%
Profit over people
31% of respondents said profit is all that matters to their organization.
In the News
New Administration Takes Office
Global Terror Attacks
2017 Empathy Trends
2 in 3
Struggling with empathy
2 in 3 employees said demonstrating empathy at work is hard.
%
Women feel less empathy
Only 36% of women (vs. 62% of men) rated companies in general as empathetic.
In the News
#MeToo Movement
Las Vegas Mass Shooting
2018 Empathy Trends
%
The empathy gap
92% of employees said empathy is still undervalued by U.S. organizations.
%
Profit with empathy
87% of CEOs said their company’s financial performance is tied to empathy.
In the News
U.S.-China Trade War Begins
Parkland School Shooting
2019 Empathy Trends
%
Empathy = retention
82% of employees said they would leave their job for a more empathetic organization.
%
+15 points from 2018
Empathy must evolve
72% of CEOs (+15 points YOY) said empathy needed to evolve.
In the News
Fed Cuts Interest Rates
Brexit & Geopolitical Tension
2020 Empathy Trends
%
Leaders vs. workers
48% of employees vs. 68% of CEOs viewed their company as empathetic.
1 in 3
Disconnect on PTO
1 in 3 employees said their employer didn’t offer enough time off vs. only 13% of CEOs.
In the News
COVID Pandemic Starts
Black Lives Matter Protests
2021 Empathy Trends
2 in 3
Thriving remotely
2 in 3 employees said they are more productive when working remotely.
%
Empathy stigma
68% of CEOs feared not being respected if they demonstrate empathy at work.
In the News
U.S. Capitol Riot
New Administration Takes Office
Global Supply Chain Crisis
2022 Empathy Trends
%
Flexibility matters
94% of employees viewed workplace flexibility as a top expression of empathy.
%
Split on RTO
92% of CEOs were satisfied with their company’s RTO approach vs. 78% of employees.
In the News
Roe v. Wade Overturned
Rising Inflation /Interest Rates
Russia Invades Ukraine
2023 Empathy Trends
%
-23 points from 2022
Empathy takes a hit
HR’s perception of empathy in the workplace tanked to 68%, -23 points from the previous year.
%
24-point divide
68% of HR viewed their CEO as empathetic vs. 92% of CEOs who said HR is empathetic, a 24-point divide fueled by RTO.
In the News
AI Boom
Return-to-Office (RTO) Push
Israel-Gaza Conflict
2024 Empathy Trends
%
+24 points from 2023
Mental strain rises
55% of CEOs reported a mental health issue, +24 points YOY.
%
Toxic workplaces
52% of CEOs and 35% of employees viewed their workplaces as toxic.
In the News
Global Economic Uncertainty
Mass Layoffs
2025 Empathy Trends
$180B
Low empathy costs billions
Unempathetic U.S. organizations risk $180 billion in attrition.
3X
Toxicity multiplies
Employees at unempathetic organizations are 1.5X more likely to leave and 3X more likely to view their workplace as toxic.
In the News
U.S. Tariffs , Trade Wars, & Economic Uncertainty
RTO Push Continues
Read More About Workplace Empathy in Our 2025 Mental Health Report
About Businessolver’s Annual State of Workplace Empathy Report
Since 2016, Businessolver has surveyed a diverse cross-section of more than 26,000 employees, HR professionals, and CEOs across six industries to examine the behaviors and benefits that make a workplace empathetic. In March 2025, Edelman Data & Intelligence fielded the 2025 online survey. In the survey, empathy is defined as “the ability to understand and/or experience the feelings or perspectives of another.” To qualify, respondents needed to be 21 years or older, U.S. residents, employed full-time or part-time within their respective industry at an organization with 100 or more employees.
