“We live in a world of extraordinary pain and suffering. While
conditions today are less vicious and brutal than they have been for
much of human history, the reality remains that billions of people face
daily struggle for survival and dignity. In such a world, it is imperative
that, individually as well as through our organizations we work
toward alleviating the suffering” (Sisodia, 2017).

 

Suffering is inevitable, ubiquitous and pervasive in organizational settings (Dutton, Workman & Hardon, 2014). Research demonstrates that suffering elicited by work related (e.g. job loss, burnout, or workplace hostility) or personal life events (e.g. death of loved one, diagnosis of chronic or terminal illnesses) is emotionally, physically and financially costly (Worline & Dutton, 2017). The prevalence of and the astonishing costs associated with pain experiences in organizations illiminate the need to examine how suffering can be alleviated in organizations. Compassion represents individuals’ openness and commitment to alleviate another’s suffering. Prior literature describes compassion as a multi-stage process designed to alleviate others’ pain (Dutton, et al, 2014). This process unfolds through compassion episodes, representing micro occasions of person to person interactions in which focal actors acknowledge sufferers’ expressions of pain (Dutton, Lilius, Kanov, 2007). Compassion episodes begins with a pain trigger leading to an experience of suffering. When an individual expresses his/her suffering and share it with others, focal actors may notice this suffering, engage in sense-making, feel empathy for the sufferer, and act to attempt and alleviate the suffering (Dutton, et al., 2014).