Emotional job demands and the evolution of sympathy in the workplace

Many professions require employees to invest significant emotional effort to succeed. But how does this affect their own emotional growth over time? A recent study by Susanne Scheibe, together with former postdoc researcher Susan Reh (now University of Exeter) delves into this question, exploring how emotional job demands shape employees' sympathy over a 9-year period. They found that working in highly emotionally demanding jobs (such as healthcare or police) can reduce the growth of sympathy over time, leading to less concern and warmth towards others. However, employees with a strong learning goal orientation—those motivated by self-improvement and mastery—are better equipped to buffer these negative effects.

💡 Takeaway for organizations: Supporting employees in developing a learning-oriented mindset can help mitigate the emotional toll of demanding roles, fostering both personal growth and a more compassionate workforce.

Link to the article (open access): https://academic.oup.com/workar/advance-article/doi/10.1093/workar/waae022/7959602