A young newly appointed Human Resources manager in a company, when told about the companys plan to induct empathy-based training for the employees, questions the founder why to invest on people when they may not stick around, speaks much about the necessity for such training.
Her question was more about cutting cost incurred per employee, but the management was looking at a larger picture. If through these training humane interactions can become a norm than a chance happening, the overall retention of employees will cut the costs of hiring them.
The value of empathy as part of work culture across the world is spreading far and wide.
Many times a leader can show empathy in one situation but not consistently. An awareness of what empathetic behaviour can alter in conversations is worth knowing. In fact, every employee can benefit from life skills training which includes empathetic communication.
How can employees be taught Empathy as a life skill?
Tools of Empathy can be practised in all office settings. Management can take initiative in settings precedents to practice than preach. This ensures faster retention and greater scope of emulation.
Senior managers can adopt skill sets that are conducive to the implementation of empathy in the workplace.
1: Practising good listening skills ceates a feeling that they are being heard.
2: Empathy is about taking into consideration another’s point of view in a non-judgemental manner.
3: Giving time and attention to employees increases communication and productivity.
4: Mindfulness increases in the workplace as employees begin to be aware of each other. Strength and weaknesses are mutually balanced and supported in cooperation.
5: Helps in conflict resolutions and negotiations and trust-building and thereby improving teamwork and collaboration.
Enough evidence to show the difference empathy based trainings can bring to offices and how it creates a positive environment. It is time to adopt and build empathy driven work culture.
A few musings from my mother’s heart that I feel like sharing here today!
When we walk along the path of roses, thorns are unavoidable.
It doesn’t mean we stop walking. Remove the thorns from our way and proceed further
It may hurt. But It won’t last. Let’s keep going.
Life is like a seesaw
It keeps going and down.
The fall and climb are parts of the life. Fret not if our efforts don’t yield results.
The seed needs its own time
To grow into a tree,
The buds to blossom as fragrant flowers,
The fruits and grains, to ripe to nourish
Yet till then they need all the care and nurture
So do our dreams, take its own time n
our continuous effort to become reality.
Waves fall to rise again
Leaves fall to bring
spring again
Day falls to bring a new dawn again
Arere we not a part of Nature?
We may fall, be sure we will rise again
Our dreams are the seed.
Our patience is the time
Our hard work is the nurture
Our Faith and Hope, the nourishment.
Every life is uniquely endowed with perspectives and experiences. A living book is a human who shares his life’s stories and wisdom with willingness with another interested individual.
If the conversation is interesting the living book is read some more but if it does not meet the requirements of the individual reader, he is free to get up and find another living book to meet and connect.
Living books library concept is an interesting way to bring together learnings from life experiences directly on a one to one basis and a group setting. The conversation depends on what you want to understand and turn it towards.
Life teaches us much and every human can benefit from unedited direct soul to soulful connects where words flow at the moment. In such connection is the transparency of truth that is glaringly stark from a book of prewritten words arranged in a format predesigned to sell in the market.
Life is so much than being a business. In these discussions, the reader or the learner and the living book are both free to direct the course of the conversation without constraints.
Unlike a regular library of books, the human library is a gathering of humans and is event-based.
There are many functioning human book libraries all around the world today.
The concept began in Copenhagen Denmark in 2000. The idea is to be nonjudgemental and engage in a dialogue that helps break barriers and social prejudices. The human book could be anyone who has a story to tell and is ready to share it. Or someone who has gone through any kind of discrimination and wants to share their experiences openly. So next time you want to explore the idea of reading a book, consider and lookout for opportunities to connect with a human book!
This very impressive piece of work by Polish artist Jacek Yerka called the Bible Dam caught my attention…
A few musings on similar lines. If all the knowledge of the world Could be collected and channeled To flow into a ocean of knowing Ready to pour out the learning Crystallized into books for the reading Ever ready in the giving To ease the receiving. What a wise world it would be! But is knowing simply enough?
Knowledge is willing to be shared But is the learning enough? To make the world wise Without the experiences to practice No knowledge can be worthy And no knowing really useful.
Life is in the knowing, sharing learning processing, experiencing & most of all in the living.
In continuation to my earlier post on Holistic education. I came across this poignant post and I heartfully share this wonderful initiative and reflections.
ATTENTION ALL TEACHERS AND PARENTS
Every Friday afternoon Chase’s teacher asks her students to take out a piece of paper and write down the names of four children with whom they’d like to sit the following week. The children know that these requests may or may not be honored. She also asks the students to nominate one student whom they believe has been an exceptional classroom citizen that week. All ballots are privately submitted to her.
And every single Friday afternoon, after the students go home, Chase’s teacher takes out those slips of paper, places them in front of her and studies them. She looks for patterns.
Who is not getting requested by anyone else? Who doesn’t even know who to request? Who never gets noticed enough to be nominated? Who had a million friends last week and none this week?
You see, Chase’s teacher is not looking for a new seating chart or “exceptional citizens.” Chase’s teacher is looking for lonely children. She’s looking for children who are struggling to connect with other children. She’s identifying the little ones who are falling through the cracks of the class’s social life. She is discovering whose gifts are going unnoticed by their peers. And she’s pinning down- right away- who’s being bullied and who is doing the bullying.
As a teacher, parent, and lover of all children – I think that this is the most brilliant Love Ninja strategy I have ever encountered. It’s like taking an X-ray of a classroom to see beneath the surface of things and into the hearts of students. It is like mining for gold – the gold being those little ones who need a little help – who need adults to step in and TEACH them how to make friends, how to ask others to play, how to join a group, or how to share their gifts with others. And it’s a bully deterrent because every teacher knows that bullying usually happens outside of her eyeshot – and that often kids being bullied are too intimidated to share. But as she said – the truth comes out on those safe, private, little sheets of paper.
As Chase’s teacher explained this simple, ingenious idea – I stared at her with my mouth hanging open. “How long have you been using this system?” I said. Ever since Columbine, she said. Every single Friday afternoon since Columbine.
Good Lord.
This brilliant woman watched Columbine knowing that ALL VIOLENCE BEGINS WITH DISCONNECTION. All outward violence begins as inner loneliness. She watched that tragedy KNOWING that children who aren’t being noticed will eventually resort to being noticed by any means necessary.
And so she decided to start fighting violence early and often, and with the world within her reach. What Chase’s teacher is doing when she sits in her empty classroom studying those lists written with shaky 11 year old hands – is SAVING LIVES. I am convinced of it. She is saving lives.
And what this mathematician has learned while using this system is something she really already knew: that everything – even love, even belonging – has a pattern to it. And she finds those patterns through those lists – she breaks the codes of disconnection. And then she gets lonely kids the help they need. It’s math to her. It’s MATH.
All is love- even math. Amazing.
Chase’s teacher retires this year – after decades of saving lives. What a way to spend a life: looking for patterns of love and loneliness. Stepping in, every single day- and altering the trajectory of our world.
TEACH ON, WARRIORS. You are the first responders, the front line, the disconnection detectives, and the best and ONLY hope we’ve got for a better world. What you do in those classrooms when no one is watching- it’s our best hope. http://momastery.com/blog/2014/01/30/share-schools/
“Before you speak, let your words pass through three gates: Is it true? Is it necessary? Is it kind?”
Truth
Words of truth when spoken
Nourishes the speaker and the world
Cleansing the toxic facades of lies
Creating a trustful disposition
Let truth prevail.
Need
Every word matters
Words are priceless
They are worth their weight in gold
Waste not words unnecessarily
For they will lose their value
Speak when words need to be said.
Kindness
Let the words you speak
Flow from the heart
Let it emanate kindness
Let it open the gates of love
And embalm the lives it touches.
Savvy Raj 
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