Idea in Brief

The Situation

We all know that empathy is essential to effective leadership, management, product development, marketing—pretty much any aspect of business that involves people. But it has its limits.

The Problem

Empathy taxes us mentally and emotionally, it’s not an infinite resource, and it can even impair our ethical judgment. That’s why if we demand too much of it from employees, performance will suffer.

The Solution

You can take steps to prevent the ill effects and promote the good. For instance, have people focus on certain sets of stakeholders, help them meet others’ needs in ways that also address their own, and give them empathy breaks so they can replenish their reserves.

A few years ago, Ford Motor Company started asking its (mostly male) engineers to wear the Empathy Belly, a simulator that allows them to experience symptoms of pregnancy firsthand—the back pain, the bladder pressure, the 30 or so pounds of extra weight. They can even feel “movements” that mimic fetal kicking. The idea is to get them to understand the ergonomic challenges that pregnant women face when driving, such as limited reach, shifts in posture and center of gravity, and general bodily awkwardness.

A version of this article appeared in the January–February 2016 issue of Harvard Business Review.