Mean bosses and the Empathy Exit

Attention HR professionals: The Empathy Exit, which is threatening employee engagement, is upon us and mean bosses feel emboldened by economic uncertainty and the expanding applications of artificial intelligence (AI). CEOs and other executives are telling employees to work harder and complain less - or else, according to the Wall Street Journal. And empathy is being shown the door, thus the Empathy Exit.

"Corporate America’s long-running war for talent sounds more like a war on the talent these days," according to WSJ in the opening line of the recent article, ‘Everybody’s Replaceable’: The New Ways Bosses Talk About Workers.

In the article, writer Chip Cutter offers the examples of Skims Co-founder Emma Grede, Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol, JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon and Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshani coming down hard on employees. Dimon's tirade against return-to-office dissidents is well-known. A leaked audio of a town hall that had Dimon responding to a staffperson's question regarding an employee petition to rethink RTO mandates was laced with foul language and sounded angry. Dimon later told CNBC that he regretted the response he gave. 

A turn for the worse in employee engagement

This marks a big shift from the norms built in 2020 when the pandemic forced work from home policies and inspired kindness and wellness efforts designed to engage employees in hard times. Empathy was the superpower of the time. In fact, a labor shortage and other challenges gave employees leverage over employers. The result was the Great Resignation, which had talent wars heating up and job candidates able to push for higher wages, flexibility and more perks. 

The backdrop for the trend of mean bosses is an interesting one. Gallup reported in its State of the Global Workplace 2025 Report that global employee engagement declined from 23 percent to 21 percent, marking only the second drop in 12 years. The pandemic, with its lockdowns, was the only other plummet.

At the same time, President Donald J. Trump's second administration is leaving its mark on the workplace and the economy. He put billionaire and Tesla CEO Elon Musk in charge of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and they immediately began slashing federal worker jobs, executing layoffs and implementing unfriendly policies including aasking federal employees to share a list of things they did in the past week or risk termination. 

Trump also launched a trade war that has caused a shaky stock market and overall economic uncertainty, which has begun to impact inventory of products and job security for many. Most importantly, Trump has taken the position that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies and flexibility about when and where people work are unacceptable. Also, he is known for using harsh language that can be inflammatory. Critics have said that the administration's "anti-woke" policies, tough stance on immigration and slashing of the federal government have given others permission to be less empathetic, according to MSNBC. 

How AI plays a role in the Empathy Exit

In addition, advances in technology are more rapid than ever. While AI can be empowering because it helps people do their jobs better and be more efficient, it is also replacing some workers. WSJ cited Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke, who told employees that the company would not hire anyone new until they proved that AI could not do the job. Lütke is not alone.

“AI is coming for your jobs. Heck, it’s coming for my job too. This is a wake-up call,” Micha Kaufman, CEO of the freelance marketplace Fiverr, wrote in a staff memo last month, according to WSJ. "[Those] who will not wake up and understand the new reality fast are, unfortunately, doomed.”

If employers can replace people with machines, they are less likely to worry about employee wellness and engagement. Yet, customer experience (CX) professionals are more focused than ever on showing empathy and building trust with consumers. This is coming at a time when consumer confidence has dropped to the lowest since Covid. And many business leaders recognize the connection between positive CX and positive employee experience. HR Exchange Network's sister portal, CX Network, often describes not being able to have one without the other. 

The case in favor of empathy at work

Also, at PEX Network's All Access: Digital Transformation in HR webinar series, Greg Pryor, a founding member of Connected Commons and author of the recently released book The Social Capital Imperative: Revealing, Developing and Leveraging Organizational Networks (Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology) expressed his expectation that "social agility," or an ability to develop strong relationships will become a more important skill. Productive relationships traditionally require empathy, so the Empathy Exit does not fit well into this new world. 

Watch Pryor explain social agility at All Access: Digital Transformation in HR. 

Psychology Today recently ran an article, Empathy in the Age of Apathy and summarized the points of Chaz Ebert about "the power of conscience with her new release It's Time to Give a FECK: Elevating Humanity through Forgiveness, Empathy, Compassion and Kindness, which emphasizes the transformative power of practicing emotional intelligence and human connection in everyday life."

"Through personal stories and practical insights, it encourages readers to move beyond apathy and resentment, fostering deeper understanding and authentic relationships. The core message is clear: by choosing to 'give a FECK,' individuals can contribute to a more conscious, connected and humane world," according to Psychology Today. "We need guidelines such as these now more than ever. What we buy matters. What we do to the Earth matters. And, above all else, what we do to each other matters. Giving a FECK is a good start to counteract the non-sensical narrative that empathy is somehow a hindrance to human progress."