Compassion
FEAP works in conjunction with UVA Mindfulness Center, the UVA Compassionate Care Initiativee, and the UVA Contemplative Sciences Center in order to provide programs and resources related to Cultivating Compassion in the workplace and at home.
A Trainable Skill linked to Resilience.
Understanding the difference between Compassion and Empathy and learning how to cultivate sustainable compassion in your own life can be the difference between being nourished or burned out by your work.
In the study of Compassion report, Tania Singer, PhD, writes, “Empathy is really important for understanding other’s emotions… but there is a downside of empathy… When we share in the suffering of others too much, our negative emotions increase and this carries the danger of emotional burnout. Participants in compassion training are better able to stay in touch with challenges and negative emotions from a calmer mindset."
In addition, compassion activation is linked to greater resilience, gratitude, happiness, physical health and overall wellbeing, (The Science of Compassion), as well as increased engagement, retention, productivity, and job satisfaction, (Awakening Compassion At Work: the Quiet Power that Elevates People and Organizations).
The positive benefits of practicing compassion exercises can be experienced after as few as seven total hours over the course of a two week period, (Altered Traits). The benefits to choosing compassionate responses to an organization include financial resiliency, profitability & customer retention; Human-based collective capabilities, (creativity, learning etc.); as well as improved quality of service; and improved adaptability, (The Mind of the Leader).
FEAP offers a variety of compassion-related services
- 1-3 one on one or small group compassion coaching
- 1-hour seminars
- Facilitated compassion exercises for Team Retreats
- Six-week compassion class to promote resilience