The COVID-19 pandemic catapulted a number of buzzwords into the HR lexicon: the Great Resignation, quiet quitting, RTO. But one concept that gained significant HR traction during the crisis—the power of empathy in the workplace—shouldn’t be treated as a fleeting influence or a perk, says Marcy Klipfel, chief engagement officer at consulting company Businessolver.

The idea of leading with empathy can seem “trendy,” she says, but employees are smart and can see through inauthenticity.

“You can say it and you can splash it around, but you have to demonstrate it,” she says. “Take it off the wall and down the hall.”

2 avenues to bring empathy to life

Recent research from Businessolver, based on surveys of more than 3,200 employees, HR professionals and CEOs, defines empathy as “the ability to understand and/or experience the feelings or perspectives of another.” While the study found that nearly three-quarters of employees report their organization is empathetic, the companies that are lacking on the empathy front are doing so at great risk. Employees who feel their orgs aren’t empathetic are 1.5 times more likely than others to leave the company this year—which could amount to a total $180 billion loss to those organizations.

Klipfel points to two key areas HR can hone in on—leadership and benefits—to create more genuinely empathetic workplaces.

Consistency and communication: culture-builders

Empathy is a culture issue and leaders are the stewards of that culture, Klipfel says.

If organizations don’t have buy-in from all levels of leadership—from supervisors and mid-level managers all the way to the CEO—efforts to embrace empathy will “fall flat,” she says.

Businessolver tackles this challenge with a framework for consistent, transparent leadership communication. Every Monday, for instance, leaders including the CEO, Klipfel, marketing and strategy execs, hold a live session for all “Solvers.” That messaging is carried through into managers’ 1:1 discussions, which are expected at least every other week, as well as monthly departmental all-hands and gatherings of the “Leader League.”

“It’s about consistency,” Klipfel says.

The organization deploys pulse surveys at least monthly, which include questions about the frequency of employees’ interactions with their leaders.

“I can say whatever I want on Monday but then if a Solver hasn’t met with their leader or had a good interaction for more than a week, that will start to feel off,” Klipfel says.

The integration of AI into workplaces will drive up the need for empathetic leadership even more. As employees navigate the uncertainty surrounding the tech, and AI takes over some daily touchpoints, managers and leaders need to lean further into intentional empathy, Klipfel says.

“Any time there’s uncertainty and change,” she says, “that human touch is where we can shine.”

Creating empathy through benefits

Organizations that proclaim to be empathetic but that have policies that send a different message aren’t doing themselves any favors, the report found. And the employee benefits space is a prime example.

Survey respondents cited paid time off and workplace flexibility as top ways employers can demonstrate empathy. Access to flexibility, in particular, has significant sway over how an employee views the organization.

About 60% of employees who are currently remote or hybrid would consider quitting if the organization forced them to work in-office full-time. The finding comes amid ongoing discussions about return-to-office in the wake of the pandemic, presenting new challenges for HR.

A recent study from Littler, for instance, found that, at hybrid organizations that increased their expectations for in-person reporting, 57% reported subsequent increases in requests for remote work accommodations. Half of HR pros say they increasingly stress about potential liability over workplace accommodations issues.

HR should be armed with data beyond in-office attendance, Klipfel says, to help leadership strategize for work location decisions that prioritize both empathy and efficiency.

“Look at the actual output for measures around true success,” she says. “I guarantee it’s not badge swipes.”

Don’t consider empathy as the “cherry on top” of benefits offerings, she says; rather, it should baked into benefits design.

“It’s essential—not an option.”