Empathy in remote work communication : a qualitative case study

The importance of empathy is widely recognised and researched. Empathy is known to contribute to successful work communication and work satisfaction. In the context of remote work where communication happens digitally, empathy requires special attention and empathetic communication can't be taken for granted. This thesis studied qualitative insights of empathy in remote internal communication: how it's shown by employees and how the internal communication of a remotely working organisation could be improved with more empathy. The focus organisation, where this case study was conducted, is a Finnish small-to-medium-sized private company. The purpose of this thesis was to create recommendations for the focus organisation on how they can improve their internal communication by making it more empathetic. The objective was to gain insights into how empathy is shown in digital communication. The qualitative data were collected with three supporting methods: preliminary interviews, a survey, and a focus group discussion. All employees who took part in the study work primarily remotely. The company has already well-established practices for remote work communication. The key findings of this study highlight how delicate the topic is: simple communicational gaps can have drastic impact on how the employees feel. Conclusions of this study included that there is not one single solution to improving internal communication with empathy as the ways of showing and understanding empathy vary, just like individual communication preferences vary. Changes in communication practices and guidance, when done systematically, can shape the communication culture. Giving employees enough opportunities and channels for creating meaningful connections is important. Empathy can, and is shown, in remote communication in various ways such as offering help, using emojis, and taking time to connect. The data showed individual differences on what is perceived as empathetic communication. The recommendations of this study provided the focus organisation with practical guidance. The findings and recommendations were presented in thematical sections, which could provide valuable insights for other organisations that are working and communicating remotely. This case study was concluded in a specific context, which should be considered when drawing wider conclusions. However, qualitative study explores the depths of human experience. Experiences of communication and empathy are linked to human emotions that are likely to occur in any context. The topic offers great potential for future research as it is timely in all its multidisciplinary aspects