JonathanSR/Developing Empathetic Programmers

## Developing Empathetic Programmers
What role does empathy play in your life and how has it helped you?
I work in logistics, handling issues that customers have when their product goes missing or does not show up in a reasonable time frame. Empathy has allowed me to put myself in their shoes, by listening to their voice I am able to decipher if they are upset, angry, nervous etc. giving me the most reasonable approach to their need. A lot of times they want to be reassured that their product will be located and delivered. This in turn has also made me empathetic when facing a situation where my product goes missing or I received the wrong order, instead of lashing out at the person helping me I listen and make the situation for them as easy to handle while correcting my wrong order.

How does empathy help you build better software?
Empathy gives us the ability to understand what the end use of our software will be. How it will be implemented and how It will be used. Will it be a 6-year-old kid playing a flash game of his favorite Saturday cartoon show? A teacher showing students how to create their first “Hello World” program in a third world country? Being empathic allows us to create a better software program if we can visualize and rationalize with the end user.

Why is empathy important for working on a team?
From what I’ve read, along with what I’ve been told and heard, software is a team build now a days. Empathy allows the team to iron out any issues that may arise during the project. Being empathetic towards your coworker as to why he/she is not doing her part only to realize that they are struggling to keep up or are going through a rough time in their personal lives leads to a more pragmatic problem solving approach.

Describe a situation in which your ability to empathize with a colleague or teammate was helpful.
Logistics is a fast paced world. You are never caught up when you get more things added to your plate. For my company there are two of us that work the OS&D department in other words “lost and found.” My coworker is 60years old, was in the hospital for 2weeks for a lung infection. On his first day back I could see that he was stressed about the amount of work that he had to catch up on. Seeing and knowing all this I more than gladly took over some of his projects and daily activities for several days as he eased back into his work lifestyle. Mark, that’s his name, was quite grateful for all the help during the process.

When do you find it most difficult to be empathetic in professional settings? How can you improve your skills when faced with these scenarios?
I find it most difficult when I have a lot of work on my plate. I tend to zone out and not really pay any attention to my coworkers, which does tend to interfere once in a while. We sometimes work as a team on certain projects and when I zone out I can’t grasp how the rest of my coworkers feel It tends to make for a rougher day. I can take 5min during the day and absorb the vibe coming from the rest of the office when we are all working together.
	What role does empathy play in your life and how has it helped you?
	I work in logistics, handling issues that customers have when their product goes missing or does not show up in a reasonable time frame. Empathy has allowed me to put myself in their shoes, by listening to their voice I am able to decipher if they are upset, angry, nervous etc. giving me the most reasonable approach to their need. A lot of times they want to be reassured that their product will be located and delivered. This in turn has also made me empathetic when facing a situation where my product goes missing or I received the wrong order, instead of lashing out at the person helping me I listen and make the situation for them as easy to handle while correcting my wrong order.

	How does empathy help you build better software?
	Empathy gives us the ability to understand what the end use of our software will be. How it will be implemented and how It will be used. Will it be a 6-year-old kid playing a flash game of his favorite Saturday cartoon show? A teacher showing students how to create their first “Hello World” program in a third world country? Being empathic allows us to create a better software program if we can visualize and rationalize with the end user.

	Why is empathy important for working on a team?
	From what I’ve read, along with what I’ve been told and heard, software is a team build now a days. Empathy allows the team to iron out any issues that may arise during the project. Being empathetic towards your coworker as to why he/she is not doing her part only to realize that they are struggling to keep up or are going through a rough time in their personal lives leads to a more pragmatic problem solving approach.

	Describe a situation in which your ability to empathize with a colleague or teammate was helpful.
	Logistics is a fast paced world. You are never caught up when you get more things added to your plate. For my company there are two of us that work the OS&D department in other words “lost and found.” My coworker is 60years old, was in the hospital for 2weeks for a lung infection. On his first day back I could see that he was stressed about the amount of work that he had to catch up on. Seeing and knowing all this I more than gladly took over some of his projects and daily activities for several days as he eased back into his work lifestyle. Mark, that’s his name, was quite grateful for all the help during the process.

	When do you find it most difficult to be empathetic in professional settings? How can you improve your skills when faced with these scenarios?
	I find it most difficult when I have a lot of work on my plate. I tend to zone out and not really pay any attention to my coworkers, which does tend to interfere once in a while. We sometimes work as a team on certain projects and when I zone out I can’t grasp how the rest of my coworkers feel It tends to make for a rougher day. I can take 5min during the day and absorb the vibe coming from the rest of the office when we are all working together.