Media Release
Brisbane, Australia – 30 June 2020
As COVID-19 restrictions are eased across the country, Australian businesses are working
to define their new norm. Business Continuity Plans are revised and systems and processes updated, yet few organisations have considered the impact of the emotional crash about to hit their teams.
As performance measures take precedence over the importance of human re-connection, Leanne Butterworth, Founder of Queensland Based Social Enterprise, Empathy First, is launching a new online empathy training programme to fill the empathy gap in businesses. “Unfortunately, until recently empathy has been a missing skill in the leadership toolkit,” says Butterworth.
“I heard someone say that we’re all in the same boat and we’re not. We’re all in our own boat in the same storm. Each person will experience a different emotional response, and they’re all perfectly valid,” she said.
As many face unprecedented stress and pressure to maintain work efficiency while adapting to an ever changing set of rules, it’s unsurprising that Australians have reported experiencing feelings of loneliness, anxiety, grief, fear, disconnection and overwhelm of often conflicting information.
“There is increasing evidence that communicating with empathy and kindness can lead
to improvements in staff wellbeing, mental health, productivity, brand reputation and business longevity. Delivered in the right way, empathy can also save lives. If the business community prioritise and invest in empathy skills, the profits and productivity metrics will follow.”
There are two new Empathy First online learning courses are available at empathyfirst.com.au. Experiential and customised training programmes are delivered by Leanne in person or virtually.
About Empathy First
Empathy First is a Social Enterprise founded by Leanne Butterworth. Recognising the empathy gap in business, following many years as an ambassador for Mental Health, Leanne launched a portfolio of online and face to face experiential learning solutions to meet the demand for empathy skills in leadership and in-house teams. The range of services include experiential training, empathy toolboxes and lunchbox talks, and keynote speaker sessions delivered in person or remotely. Leanne believes that changing leadership behaviour through empathy will save lives.
Hi! I'm Leanne Butterworth, Empathy Speaker and Educator, University Lecturer and Mental Health Advocate.
Empathy First is a Brisbane-based social enterprise offering Empathy workshops, online courses and individual Empathy coaching to help you build connection and strengthen your relationships for personal and professional success.
Contact me today and let's talk about how you can put Empathy First.