Broken Promises at Work: Lead with Compassion
- Compassionate employees are better equipped to handle broken promises in the workplace, according to new research.
- Tom Zagenczyk, a management professor at North Carolina State university and coauthor of the paper, noted that compassion is frequently enough misconstrued as a weakness.
- The study addresses psychological contract breach (PCB), which occurs when employees believe their employer has broken a promise, such as failing to provide an expected raise or altering...
When employers break promises, compassion becomes a critical asset for employee resilience. New research indicates that offering compassion enhances emotional fortitude, boosts job performance, and reduces turnover. A psychological contract breach (PCB), such as unfulfilled raises or altered company missions, can substantially impact employees. this study delves into how self-compassion reduces emotional exhaustion, and other-compassion improves job performance, even when things go wrong. News Directory 3 highlights that compassion is not a weakness but a strength. Training programs and prioritizing compassionate candidates may become new standards. Discover what’s next for workplace well-being.
Compassion Boosts Employee Resilience and Performance
Updated May 28, 2025
Compassionate employees are better equipped to handle broken promises in the workplace, according to new
research. The study indicates that compassion enhances emotional resilience, improves job performance, and
reduces the likelihood of employees seeking new employment when they feel their employer has failed to meet
obligations.
Tom Zagenczyk, a management professor at North Carolina State university and coauthor of the paper, noted that
compassion is frequently enough misconstrued as a weakness. However,he said this research highlights how compassion
strengthens individuals and influences their behavior at work.
The study addresses psychological contract breach (PCB), which occurs when employees believe their employer has
broken a promise, such as failing to provide an expected raise or altering the company’s mission. Sara
Krivacek, the paper’s first author and an assistant professor of management at James Madison University,
explained that while much research focuses on organizational responses to PCB, this study examines the role of
compassion.
Researchers investigated self-compassion (kindness toward oneself) and other-compassion (kindness toward
others) to understand how they affect coping mechanisms in response to PCB. Data was collected during the
pandemic, a period when reduced interaction with peers highlighted the importance of individual traits in
managing workplace challenges.
The researchers conducted three surveys of white-collar workers in the Netherlands over one-month intervals.
The initial survey identified instances of PCB, while the second measured negative feelings toward the employer
and levels of self- and other-compassion. The final survey assessed intentions to leave, job performance, and
emotional exhaustion.
“People frequently enough equate compassion with weakness or softness, but this work underscores the ways in which
compassion actually makes people resilient—and how that can affect their behavior in the workplace,”
Zagenczyk said.
krivacek said that violation feelings resulting from PCBs drive negative outcomes like emotional exhaustion.
However, compassion plays a significant role in mitigating thes effects.
The study revealed that higher levels of self-compassion correlate with reduced emotional exhaustion, even
amid negative feelings following a PCB. Similarly, employees with greater other-compassion were less inclined
to quit and demonstrated higher job performance, suggesting that concern for colleagues motivates them to
remain engaged despite perceived mistreatment.
“For example, we found that the higher an individual’s levels of self-compassion, the less emotionally
fatigued they were—even when they were experiencing violation feelings after a PCB,” Krivacek said.
Krivacek suggests that organizations shoudl consider workshops and training programs to foster self- and
other-compassion among employees. She added that companies prone to high levels of PCB might prioritize
candidates with higher compassion levels during the hiring process.
What’s next
Future research may explore specific interventions to cultivate compassion in the workplace and assess their
long-term impact on employee well-being and organizational performance.