Empathy in the Workplace

Hello, I’m Paul Prasalowicz and I’m a Junior Advertising Major at Temple University’s Klein College of Media and Communication. Currently, I’m an intern with Cancer Treatment Centers of America.

Being around people, who strive to promote empathy and friendly values, has made my first internship a lot more pleasant and comfortable. Working in a Cancer Treatment Center has certainly been an eye opening experience. This is my first work experience for a big company. So, I was extremely nervous at first. I wasn’t sure how other people were going to act towards me, and I wasn’t sure how to act toward my fellow coworkers. “Do I talk to them while working? Do I not talk to them at all because I’m an intern?” Little, obsessive thoughts like these were going through my mind before I started.

However, very similar to the nerves in an interview, you quickly realize these people are human just like you. I was welcomed by the entire team, and quickly got a feel for how to act towards other employees. Everyone greeted each other, and I even met the CEO of the company on my second day. No matter how I was feeling personally, I made sure that I greeted everyone positively, and introduced myself. Being a part of a cancer treatment center is a bid intimidating and scary but there is also something very comforting about it. Everyone is there for the greater purpose, and when I enter that building, I leave a lot of my worries at the door.

Working in an empathy first workplace taught me how to put my personal worries and problems aside as often as possible. If you are constantly focused on yourself, your problems, and your worries, you will not get the most out of an internship, or on a more serious note, life in general.