Empathy mostly comes easy to me. I identify with the "emotional empathy" that Daniel Goleman wrote about in his Emotional Intelligence blog post. I can have trouble with boundaries and empathy, letting things get to me too much. I have one of those faces that strangers want to tell their life story to. Besides the downsides, empathy has allowed me to better understand the people I've encountered. There's a million different types of people in this world, and getting to know how people operate has helped me to dileneate "right or wrong" from just "different".
It helps you work more efficiently on a team, if you're building software with other people. It also helps with product satisfaction. Taking feedback from companies or customers, improving the software, and working with deadlines. It's an important soft skill that helps make you pleasant to work with.
Empathy makes you easier to work with. If you're patient, understanding, and adaptable to the skills, goals, pace, etc. of your team. It's crucial in teamwork to balance the skills of everyone involved. Additionally, empathy helps communication run smoother, if there is good team morale it increases passion put into projects, as well.
When I was a climbing guide my team and I used empathy a lot to take care of each other. If someone was a bit sick one day, we'd let them do less of their responsibilities in carrying gear, leading the participants in activities, or driving. This was helpful because it ensured we took good care of our teammates. Sometimes work responsibilities aren't always "fair", but later when I'm feeling sick, my teammates would return the favor to me. This makes sure we get the job/objective done without keeping score of each other.
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've found it most difficult to be empathetic in work settings when a colleague has demonstrated ambivalence towards me. I can easily take it personal, or that they dislike working with me and will shut off a bit towards them. To improve this sort of scenario, I think I should give them more benefit of the doubt. Maybe something else going on in their life is causing them to behave this way. Or maybe they have misunderstood me, or we simply just don't mesh well together. I can extend the olive branch more, or put personal hurt feelings away and continue with work pleasantly.