Are you looking for some empathy team building activities?
No matter what kind of organization you have, it’s important to foster empathy in your workplace. So, your employees will understand each other better and develop stronger relationships.
In this article, we’ve put together 12 team building activities that will foster empathy among your employees.
What is Empathy?
Empathy is the ability to understand and share another person’s feelings. It involves showing emotional sensitivity and understanding the perspective of others. It’s a valuable skill in the workplace because it helps to create a supportive environment where employees can work together more effectively.
12 Empathy Team Building Activities for Your Employees
Here are some fantastic empathy exercises for your workplace.
If you want some kindness activities, you can read this article: 10 Kindness Team Building Activities for the Workplace
So, let’s go!
#1. Respectful Listening
This exercise helps employees practice active listening and show respect when others are speaking.
Time: You decide
Materials: None
Participants: Any number of people
Instructions
- Instruct each employee to take turns introducing themselves, their background, and why they decided to work at your organization.
- Next, have them share their stories – how they grew up, any interesting or unique life experiences, etc.
- Ask the rest of the team to listen attentively and without judgment.
- At the end, ask each person to share what they’ve learned about the others.
Debrief
Discuss how each person felt when they were listening to the others. Encourage team members to reflect on how being mindful and empathetic to each other can help build better relationships.
#2. Compliment Game
This game allows employees to boost morale through positive reinforcement.
Time: 15 minutes
Materials: None
Participants: 3-8 members per group
Instructions
- Ask each employee to take turns complimenting one another on something specific they did for the team or organization.
- Provide examples of compliments such as “I appreciate how you handled that customer service issue today,” or “I noticed how well you managed our team meeting”.
- Encourage everyone to listen and acknowledge the compliments given by others.
Debrief
Discuss the importance of positive reinforcement in the workplace. Ask team members what they learned from the activity and how being kind to one another can improve morale.
#3. The Compassion Map
This activity encourages team members to think critically about how others might feel in different situations.
Time: 15 minutes
Materials: Pieces of paper with compassion elements written on them, and markers
Participants: 2-8 members per group
Instructions
- Instruct each employee to pick a partner.
- Give each pair a piece of paper with the four key elements of compassion (feelings, thoughts, needs, and behavior).
- Ask each pair to take turns filling out the compassion map for their partner.
- Encourage them to be as specific and detailed as possible in their responses.
Debrief
Discuss the importance of understanding another person’s perspective when trying to foster compassion in the workplace. Stress that by taking a few moments to consider the feelings, thoughts, needs, and behavior of their peers, employees can better align their goals.
#4. The Kindness Challenge
This activity focuses on the importance of being kind and understanding towards others.
Time: You decide
Materials: None
Participants: Any number of people
Instructions
- Ask each employee to think of three ‘kind acts’ they can do for their colleagues in the next week. For example, sending a thank-you note, offering to help with a project, or sharing an encouraging word.
- Let them share their ideas with the group.
- During the following week, have employees keep track of their progress and report back at the end.
Debrief
Discuss the importance of being kind and understanding towards others in order to foster empathy. Explain that by making an effort to show kindness, we can create a work environment that values and respects each individual. Also, encourage employees to continue this practice in their future interactions!
#5. Role Reversal
This exercise will help everyone learn how to apply empathy more appropriately in different situations.
Time: You decide
Materials: None
Participants: Any number of people
Instructions
- Ask the team to split into pairs and assign each pair a workplace scenario. For example, a manager who feels overwhelmed by their workload, or a customer service team member who needs to handle an angry customer.
- Instruct each pair to role-play the scenario, taking turns playing the roles of both parties involved in the situation.
- Encourage them to explore how they would feel and act if they were on either side of the situation.
Debrief
Discuss how role reversal can be useful in fostering compassion among employees. Explain the importance of understanding someone else’s perspective before responding to them. Also, talk about how they can apply these lessons to their own workplace scenarios.
#6. Empathy Quiz
This activity will help employees understand the importance of empathy in the workplace by taking a quiz.
Time: 15 minutes
Materials: Quiz questions related to empathy
Participants: Small teams (minimum 2 members)
Instructions
- Instruct each employee to answer their own set of empathy quiz questions. The questions can be about workplace situations or general scenarios.
- Give them enough time to answer the questions and discuss their answers as a team.
Debrief
Discuss the importance of empathy in the workplace and how it builds a positive team culture. Talk about how understanding another person’s perspective can help employees work better together and be more successful.
#7. Compassion Walk
This exercise helps employees to practice compassion by taking turns walking through the office or workspace as if they were in someone else’s shoes.
Time: You decide
Materials: None
Participants: Any number of people
Instructions
- Ask each employee to choose someone in the team and ‘walk’ around the office as if they were in that person’s shoes.
- Let them observe everything from that person’s perspective as they wander around the office.
- Then, have the employees share their observations with the team.
Debrief
Talk about how much easier it is to understand and work with someone else when you can see things from their perspective. Discuss the ways to create a more inclusive and understanding workplace environment.
#8. Power Hour
This activity helps employees explore various ways to show compassion to others.
Time: You decide
Materials: None
Participants: Any number of people
Instructions
- Ask each employee to come up with three examples of ways they could show compassion in the workplace.
- Encourage employees to share their ideas with the group and discuss them together.
- Ask employees to consider how they could apply their ideas in the workplace.
Debrief
Reflect on the importance of compassion in the workplace and discuss how it can help foster strong relationships between colleagues. Encourage employees to practice showing kindness to each other.
#9. Acts of Kindness
This activity will help employees practice empathy by completing several acts of kindness.
Time: You decide
Materials: Cell phones to access charities or other locations
Participants: Entire team
Instructions
- Hand out a list of challenges that involve acts of kindness, such as buying a coffee for someone or donating to a charity.
- Give them a fixed time to complete the challenge.
- Have each participant share what they did and how it embodied compassion towards others.
Debrief
Discuss the impact of performing acts of kindness. Talk about how these simple acts can go a long way in building empathy and fostering strong relationships between colleagues. Encourage employees to continue practicing compassion in their daily lives.
#10. Matching Pairs
This exercise will help employees practice empathy by finding matching pairs.
Time: 15 minutes
Materials: Paper and pen
Participants: Entire team
Instructions
- Ask each participant to write down one way that they show empathy to others on a sheet of paper. Next, have them share their answers with their team.
- Now, each person should find a partner based on their answers. For example, if one person wrote “listen attentively”, they should try to find someone who also wrote the same or similar thing.
- Then, let the pairs discuss how they can work together to further show compassion in the workplace.
Debrief
Discuss how it feels to find someone with similar experiences. Talk about the importance of taking time to listen to others and being empathetic in the workplace.
#11. Empathy Photo
This activity helps employees gain a better understanding of empathy by exploring each person’s interpretation of the concept.
Time: 10-15 minutes
Materials: Various photos
Participants: Groups of 3-5 members
Instructions
- Instruct the participants to bring a photo that represents empathy to share with the group.
- Take turns sharing what the photo means to them and how it relates to empathy.
- Allow time for open discussion as each person explains their image.
Debrief
Discuss how different interpretations of empathy can be helpful in the workplace. Talk about the importance of considering different perspectives even when you don’t agree with them.
#12. Mirroring Activity
This game helps employees practice empathy by mirroring each other’s body language and facial expressions.
Time: 15 minutes
Materials: None
Participants: Entire team
Instructions
- Ask each employee to take turns mirroring the body language and facial expressions of another person in the room.
- Encourage employees to think about how certain expressions make them feel.
- Ask employees to observe how their own expressions affect the other person.
Debrief
Discuss how different expressions can evoke different emotions. Talk about the importance of understanding and respecting other people’s feelings in order to foster empathy in the workplace.
Want Some Unique Team Building Exercises?
If you want some unique team building exercises for your employees, you can get my new e-book:
Or Want Some Unique Leadership Development Activities?
If you want some unique activities (both in-person and virtual) to make your employees including managers better leaders, you can get my new e-book:
Final Words
By participating in these empathy team building activities, your employees will become more understanding and compassionate individuals. They will also be able to cooperate with each other and work together as a cohesive unit. All of this can improve productivity and morale within the workplace. So, start implementing these activities today, and your teams will thank you for it.