Perspective-taking in the workplace : can a priming manipulation encourage employees to empathise with their colleagues?
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The current study attempted to expand perspective-taking literature in an organisational context by testing whether a priming mechanism could encourage employees to empathise with their colleagues. 140 full-time employees in New Zealand were randomly assigned to an imagine-other empathy prime condition, a control, or an objectively primed condition. They were then presented with an audio vignette depicting a young woman experiencing hardship in her personal life that was impacting her performance at work. Participants then responded to a questionnaire capturing perspective-taking, empathic concern, positive attributions, unconditionality, and level of regard. These scales were adapted to relate specifically to participants’ colleagues, thus investigating if the priming manipulation affected their feelings towards their own workmates. Results showed no significant difference between groups for any of the dependent variables, suggesting either that a priming effect did not occur, or that the prime did not transfer to participants’ empathy towards their own colleagues. Given the lack of research into empathy in an organisational context, these results provide a number of valuable insights as to how future research can continue to broaden this field.