Business leaders increasingly recognize empathy as a contributor to business performance, but many remain concerned that demonstrating it could weaken their authority or invite criticism. A new Businessolver report finds that 59% of CEOs and 51% of chief human resources officers (CHROs) believe their decisions will be challenged if they lead with empathy. The findings highlight a leadership challenge for HR teams: translating support for employee wellbeing and psychological safety into everyday management practices.
Executives Recognize Empathy but Fear the Consequences
The findings come from Part 2 of Businessolver’s 2026 State of Workplace Empathy C-Suite Special Report, titled Inside America’s C-suite: What happens when executives don’t feel safe? The research surveyed 1,000 employees and 300 C-suite executives, including CEOs, CFOs, CIOs, CTOs and CHROs. It forms part of the company’s 11th annual study examining workplace empathy.
The report identifies a contradiction at the top of organizations. While 99% of CEOs and 88% of CHROs believe empathy contributes to business results, significant proportions say they face professional risks when putting it into practice.
The tension is particularly relevant to HR leaders, whose responsibilities often include employee experience, organizational culture, talent retention and leadership development. CHROs may advocate for empathetic management while operating within executive environments that reward rapid decisions, cost discipline and measurable business performance.
Businessolver’s findings suggest that recognizing empathy’s value does not necessarily make executives comfortable demonstrating it. Among CEOs, 43% fear losing respect if they show empathy at work, while 61% say consistently demonstrating empathy in their daily responsibilities is difficult.
Workplace Culture Influences Leadership Behavior
One of the report’s more striking findings concerns the relationship between workplace culture and executives’ willingness to demonstrate empathy.
Among executives working in organizations they describe as toxic, 78% fear losing respect if they demonstrate empathy. In organizations characterized as non-toxic, the proportion falls to 14%, a 64-percentage-point difference.
The finding suggests that leadership behavior is shaped by the environment in which executives operate. In workplaces where intimidation or aggressive management practices are prevalent, leaders may perceive empathetic responses as a professional vulnerability rather than a management strength.
For HR departments, this creates a challenge that extends beyond individual leadership training. Encouraging managers to listen, communicate openly and respond to employee concerns may have limited impact if senior leadership practices discourage those behaviors.
Marcy Klipfel, chief engagement officer at Businessolver, said executives have accepted the business case for empathy but often do not feel safe acting on it. She warned that the tension affects decision-making and can eventually influence employee experiences before problems become visible through turnover or declining productivity.
Employees and Executives Disagree About Who Shapes Culture
The research also identifies a difference in how executives and employees perceive responsibility for workplace empathy.
Only 2% of executives identify non-managerial employees as having the greatest influence on workplace empathy. Among employees, however, 32% believe their peers have the strongest influence.
This gap matters because organizational culture is not shaped exclusively through executive policies or formal HR programs. Daily interactions between colleagues, team communication and informal workplace behaviors also influence whether employees feel respected and supported.
If leadership teams focus primarily on management behavior while employees see peer relationships as equally important, workplace culture initiatives may overlook a significant part of the employee experience.
The findings point to the need for organizations to assess culture at multiple levels, including executive leadership, line management and employee interactions.
Generational Differences Add to the Leadership Challenge
Businessolver also found differences between generations of executives. Millennials reported the greatest friction when applying empathy in their leadership roles.
According to the report, 34% of millennial executives say empathy gets in the way of their personal business goals, compared with 16% of Gen X executives.
The figures suggest that executives may experience competing expectations around leadership, performance and workplace relationships differently. However, the survey does not establish why these generational differences exist or whether age itself explains the responses.
For HR leaders, the results reinforce the importance of leadership development that connects empathy with practical management responsibilities, including performance conversations, organizational change and difficult workforce decisions.
Mental Health Differences Highlight the Employee Experience Gap
The report also identifies a substantial difference between employee and executive experiences of mental health.
Employees were 1.7 times more likely than executives to report experiencing a mental health issue during the previous year, at 55% compared with 33%.
Among respondents reporting mental health issues, 54% of employees reported depression, compared with 12% of executives.
These figures highlight the different pressures employees and senior leaders may experience within the same organizations. They also raise questions about whether leadership teams have sufficient visibility into the challenges affecting the broader workforce.
For HR departments, mental health support cannot rely solely on benefit availability. Employees also need workplace environments where they can raise concerns without fear of judgment, access appropriate support and discuss workload or personal difficulties with managers.
Businessolver’s wider 2026 research examines the relationship between workplace toxicity, intimidation, psychological safety and business performance. Its broader report page says 40% of employees describe their workplace as toxic and 33% report coworker intimidation. These findings provide additional context for the leadership concerns identified in the C-suite research.
Empathy Becomes a Leadership and Workforce Strategy Issue
The report arrives as organizations manage workforce restructuring, AI adoption, changing employee expectations and pressure to improve productivity. These developments can create difficult decisions around roles, performance, skills and working conditions.
Businessolver’s earlier 2026 research found that 39% of employees worry about their future at their organization because of AI, while 49% say they have been left to figure out AI tools on their own. The research also found that employees receiving adequate employer-sponsored AI training report stronger confidence and optimism about their careers.
This adds another dimension to the empathy debate. Leaders are expected to deliver technology-driven transformation while helping employees understand how those changes affect their work and future opportunities.
For CHROs, the challenge is to make empathy part of organizational decision-making rather than treating it as a standalone cultural initiative. That includes preparing managers for difficult conversations, measuring employee sentiment, addressing intimidation and ensuring that workforce transformation includes communication and development support.
Businessolver’s findings do not establish that empathetic leadership alone produces better financial performance. They do, however, expose a gap between executives’ stated belief in empathy and their willingness to demonstrate it consistently.
The larger question for organizations is whether leadership teams can create environments where empathy is compatible with accountability, operational discipline and business performance. For HR leaders, closing that gap may be central to building healthier workplace cultures and maintaining employee trust.
Market Landscape
Workplace culture and employee experience are becoming increasingly important components of HR strategy as organizations navigate AI adoption, restructuring, productivity demands and changing workforce expectations.
The findings highlight three connected challenges:
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Leadership accountability: CEOs and CHROs recognize empathy’s business relevance but may fear professional consequences when demonstrating it.
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Psychological safety: Workplace intimidation and toxic cultures can discourage open communication and empathetic leadership.
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Employee wellbeing: Differences in reported mental health experiences point to the need for stronger employee support and more responsive management practices.
The research also reinforces the importance of employee listening, leadership development, wellbeing programs and organizational culture measurement. HR teams will need to connect these initiatives with measurable workforce outcomes rather than treating empathy as an abstract leadership principle.
Top Insights
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Businessolver found that 59% of CEOs and 51% of CHROs fear their decisions will be challenged if they lead with empathy.
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Although 99% of CEOs and 88% of CHROs believe empathy contributes to business results, consistent implementation remains difficult.
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Executives in toxic workplaces are substantially more likely to fear losing respect when demonstrating empathy.
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Employees are more likely than executives to report mental health issues, highlighting differences in workplace experiences.
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HR leaders face the challenge of embedding empathy into leadership behavior, employee relationships and organizational decision-making.
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