Exploring the Value of Storytelling for Developing Empathy in Caring Professions Workers: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Empathy skills in the workplace are an important contributor to organizational success, particularly in caring professions such as service sector roles: nurses, teachers, counselors, social workers, retail staff, and more; where employees constantly deal with human distress. Empathy is the human characteristic of connecting and responding to another’s distress. It is only when we are aware of the challenges of another that we can connect with their struggles. Awareness comes through hearing or the telling of someone’s story, which in turn generates an empathic response, resulting in a positive “helping” action toward the distressed person. Empathy, the word originating from the Greek “empatheia” means to appreciate others by entering their world, and refers to an ability to reach into another’s situation to appreciate what they may be experiencing. Empathy recognizes and uses emotional data available from the experience to respond with kindness and understanding.

Keywords: Empathy; Method of Empathy-based Stories; Storytelling; Listening; Authenticity; Trust; Gender

Australian Academy of Business and Economics Review, vol 4, issue 4, October 2018, pp 223-233