Problem #1: It’s exhausting.
Like heavy-duty cognitive tasks, such as keeping
multiple pieces of information in mind at once or
avoiding distractions in a busy environment, empathy
depletes our mental resources. So jobs that require
constant empathy can lead to “compassion fatigue,”
an acute inability to empathize that’s driven
by stress, and burnout, a more gradual and chronic
version of this phenomenon.
Health and human services professionals (doctors,
nurses, social workers, corrections oicers) are
especially at risk, because empathy is central to their
day-to-day jobs. In a study of hospice nurses, for
example, the key predictors for compassion fatigue
were psychological: anxiety, feelings of trauma, life