What role does empathy play in your life and how has it helped you?
-Throughout my childhood years I experinced physical and emotional distress. These experiences made me aware to my body's reactions to emotios such as fear, stress and anxiety. I had a hard time dealing with emotions until my college years, when finally I was able to name my own emotions. Being able to verbalize and express my feelings has given an opportunity to communicate and listen to others in a clear and less harmwful way. During my professional and personal life I have interacted with people from many different backgrounds and empathy has always helped to relate to others without necessarly having something in common. Emotions are universal and eventhoug they mightlook different from culture to culture, all people experience and feel the same emotions at least 95% according to the latest neuroscience researchs.
How does empathy help you build better software?
By taking a more empathic approach while creating and designing software I can improve my understanding of the problems to solve and also, of the real impact that softwares can have in society. This approach could solve and potentially find a more approachable inclusive and faster solution as a team.
Why is empathy important for working on a team?
Developers work in teams to create programs and reach goals that benefit both team and client. Being able to relate to people is a skill that can be developed. Some of the benefits of empathy is that it can reduce the friction between coworkers while working toward a common goal. Empathy is a great tool to stablish trust among peers and creates a better working eviroment, thus creating a more ejoyable place to do our job. Empathy also remind us that we are multifaceted beings with more than just our abilities to perform our jobs properly, it helps us to connect to people.
Describe a situation in which your ability to empathize with a colleague or teammate was helpful.
During a shift managing the food production of the day, one of my employees injured one of his fingers really bad to the point that he was bleeding excessively. I learn very soon that he needed medical attention and probably stitches since I went through a very similar injury-time ago.
I felt the pain right away when I looked at his injury. While I was trying to stop the bleeding, I assured him that the pain he was feeling at the moment would come to an end soon, that he just needed to wait for the ambulance to come. I did everything I could to keep him engaged with me.
When do you find it most difficult to be empathetic in professional settings? How can you improve your skills when faced with these scenarios?
Usually when I feel stressed out about work, it is easy for me to think only about what I need to aliviate my pain and enxiety. This sometimes can cause friction and irritability on my part with my team, it also becomes easier for me to project my own unfavorable feelings on others.This angust sometimes makes me blind to other people's needs and emotions.
When I practice awarness I become more atuned to my body and emotions, this helpes me to stablish a better understanding of my feelings but also the impact that I can have in others. Also by using tools that help to plann and organize, such as check lists and agendas I can prevent uncomfortable situations to arise. By also having an active life that helps to deal with my stress is important for me. It is important for me that I keep excersing regularly to have a better work-life balance.