‘We’re in their world’: How Covid-19 is creating more empathetic marketing leaders
As the Covid-19 outbreak tests teams to their limits and remote working blurs the lines between work and home, marketers are becoming more empathetic towards their colleagues. But will this continue once office life resumes?
There is a lot that the Covid-19 pandemic is teaching marketers about the value of teamwork. From organising cross-functional groups to develop new products to finding fresh methods of measuring success, there is much to learn about the strength of your team from operating in a crisis.
But what about the emotional side of teamwork? With the nation now working remotely for well over a month, is it possible to retain the camaraderie of the office environment – and perhaps even enhance it?
Data suggests actually it is possible. An overwhelming 83% of UK marketers say they feel more empathy for their colleagues since the onset of the coronavirus crisis, according to an exclusive survey of 849 UK brand marketers conducted by Marketing Week and its sister title Econsultancy. Furthermore, 64% report feeling more empathy from their co-workers since the pandemic began.
This empathy is being driven by the “very human recognition” that in such exceptional circumstances people are sharing more of their lives than they necessarily would in the office, says Giffgaff CMO Sophie Wheater.
