Why Empathy Is Hard In Workers’ Compensation

Empathy is a concept so needed in the workers’ compensation space and yet we have not invested the time, talent, and resources to further examine and develop this concept. Empathy: a core fundamental to build connection and trust.

In this space, we are so quickly to judge the injured human being on the other end of the line or the person who filed the workers’ compensation claim and yet what many of us fail to realize: The story you tell yourself before interacting with this human depicts the actions you will take… and crazily enough, it has nothing to do with the injured worker. Food for thought.

If you approach a situation thinking how great it will be to deny the workers’ compensation claim or that the injured worker is a liar, you will see what you approach the situation with as this concept appears frequently in life. Jon Gordon once said, ‘The story you tell yourself depicts the life you live and the actions you will take.’ Apply that here and well, yes, he is correct.

While there are many cynics who exist in the claims world, or as a former boss of mine called them ‘Crusty Claims Professionals’, I whole-heartedly believe there is a lot of good waiting to figure out how to be unleashed…and I believe people are doing the best they can. I fully believe those persons who handle workers’ compensation claims (also known as injured workers lives… but call it what you will), want to do the right thing and want to feel good about their position! What is a great way to do that which creates a win:win dynamic? Build a culture around empathy and emotional intelligence.