December 11, 2025
The workplace today is not isolated from the wider world. Employees often bring their concerns and perspectives on sensitive social and political issues into professional discussions, which can lead to conflict, misunderstanding, and strained team dynamics.
This lesson, Social Movements, Empathy, and Professional Dialogue, is designed to equip every employee with the essential communication and emotional intelligence skills needed to navigate these challenging conversations productively. By taking this course, you will learn to practice empathy as a core business skill, maintain professional boundaries, and ensure that all dialogue — even on intense topics — remains respectful, inclusive, and focused on improving team collaboration and innovation.
This lesson teaches:
- Empathy is a business skill: Understanding diverse perspectives, even during intense social topics, is crucial for improving team collaboration and innovation.
- Acknowledge the outside world: Recognizing that employees are often navigating complex social issues helps managers and colleagues respond to stress with humanity and understanding.
- Focus dialogue on impact, not intent: When discussing sensitive issues, move past why something was said and focus on the impact it had on others to foster growth.
- Maintain professional respect: While individual political views may differ, the workplace requires a commitment to respectful conduct and inclusive language toward every colleague.
Resources
If you have an LMS-connected account, you can download the SCORM file for the Social Movements, Empathy, and Professional Dialogue microlesson. For more information, please refer to the Available Microlessons content article for additional information.