10
HR
West
A
t the same time, it is arguable that
compassion is one of the most important
and difficult things we can do for others,
organizations and ourselves. For example, when
managers do not express compassion when
conducting layoffs or pay cuts, employees are more
likely to file wrongful termination lawsuits (Lind,
Greenberg, Scott, & Welchans, 2000) and engage
in workplace deviance (Greenberg, 1990). From a
retention perspective, employees are less likely to
leave their job if their employer/leader is pro-social
(Barsade & Gibson, 2003).
Compassion is strongly correlated with improved
immune system, physical well-being, as well as
improved psychological functioning, all of which
benefit employers through better performance and
lowered health care costs. Why is this so rarely
valued in the workplace?
A Compassionate History
When you consider compassion as a tangible,
behaviorally based phenomenon, it can be found
just about anywhere you look for it. Compassion
(including for the self by addressing personal
pain) goes beyond empathy or sympathy to actual
action, attempting to decrease the suffering. We
see compassion in the workplace daily, whether
helping a manager finish a task after hours, giving
a new employee help, or offering banked sick time.
Or take legal examples: Title VII of 1964 seeks to
rectify the discriminatory history of the US, the
Americans with Disability Act of 1990 prevents
discrimination and access for persons with
disabilities. You can see compassion functioning
in organizations through Employee Assistance
Programs or Compassion (Sunshine) Funds.
COMPASSION AT WORK:
BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE,
INTEGRATE!
By Daniel E. Martin, Ph.D., HR West Presenter: Session 805
Employee Relations
Our currentworkplacefinds itself strugglingonorganizational, teamand
individual levels. The impact of financial insecurity, joblessness, short-
term positions, downsizing, and changing standards in technology and
job skills have had significant financial, psychological, and social costs
for organizations and their employees. Recent research has established
the positive effects of compassion at work. To many, compassion is a
doe-eyed, hippie holdover that resonates with peaceniks and university
students who have not tasted the “real world.”
