The Brutalizing Divide

“Work is for work; keep home at home”.

False.

This brutalizing perspective cleaves people in two: dividing the work self from the messy, rest-of-life self.

If your culture does not make space for weakness, if you penalize emotion as being too feminine or too distracting, you aren’t avoiding the “problem” of emotions.

You are just making it worse by deferring it.

Signs of disfunction will emerge:

Employees whose numbers or productivity drop for “no reason”

Declining creativity and innovation (we can’t innovate and create where we don’t feel safe)

High rates of turnover

We bring our whole selves to work, we always have. And the last year and a half has brought this into clearer focus.

Empathy at work meets weakness and need with meaningful words and gestures. It is a skill that can be learned and is more important than ever.

And if you are a senior leader, this culture change begins with you. What are you doing to cultivate empathy at work?

If you don’t know where to begin, let’s talk.