The quiet power of empathy in public policy

Empathy is a foundational emotion of everyday life, and its impact is most felt in its absence.  

In public service, this is most evident when frontline officers treat citizens coldly, prompting an immediate reaction from the recipient. 

But what about policy makers who are working behind the scenes? How can they apply it in their work? 

These questions form the basis of Assel Mussagulova’s and Colette Einfeld’s research on how empathy is used in public service. 

Since 2024, the public policy researchers from the University of Sydney and the Australian National University have been taking stock of the public administration and policy literature to understand how empathy is currently theorised in this sector. 

They posit that empathy isn’t just an innate trait some people are born with - but a skill that can be cultivated through practice, reflection, and training. 

The challenge, however, lies in the fragmented status of research on empathy in public administration, leaving a gap between theory and practice. 

“We’ve seen the impact of a lack of empathy causing significant problems - the scandals of Robodebt in Australia and Dutch childcare payments are two examples that come to mind.  

“Both have led to reputational and financial damage for their governments,” Einfeld shares.   

While there are metrics and tools like SERVQUAL’s empathy dimension and the Toronto Empathy Scale, Mussagulova explains that there is no single metric designed specifically for this field. 

Most studies also focus on how frontline public officers practice empathy, leaving empathy’s role in policymaking underexplored. 

“What we are arguing for is a more holistic model that demonstrates how empathy is practiced in different policy contexts.  

“That would allow us to both measure it meaningfully and embed it more systematically into policymaking practice, ensuring empathy is not just an aspiration but a working part of how government engages with and sees the public,” Mussagulova adds. 

The gaps in empathy 

Einfeld shares that a first step in empathy is to pause and visualise the individual who will be affected by the policy, rather than thinking of them as an abstract concept. 

This is important to uncover unintended impacts or missed perspectives when designing policy. 

“This person who will be impacted by the policy might be someone you can relate to, and you can draw on your own lived experiences. Or it may be that you need to ask someone else in your team who might be impacted by a policy or even draw on other types of data,” she explains. 

Mussagulova shares an example of a survey respondent from the Australian public service, whose team member created an unrealistic timeline for people to submit paperwork after a difficult life event.  

Because the staff member lacked personal experience with the event, they didn't account for the other complex steps and challenges involved. 

This gap in policy design was spotted, and the timeline is now being reevaluated.  

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“It’s a bit concerning that these examples are of public servants pointing out flawed design after the design already took place but it’s heartening that there are public servants out there who make it their job to provide constructive feedback,” says Mussagulova. 

The duo’s research acknowledged examples of “institutional empathy” - such as requirements to produce wellbeing statements, beneficial legislation, and ensuring communication templates are empathetic in their approach. 

They note that empathy is a trainable skill that policymakers should regularly practice with their teams. This would help them consider the perspectives and experiences of the wider community during policy development. 

Championing empathy 

Leaders can either “make or break” empathetic practices in the public sector, they say. 

“Several respondents told us that when their leaders modelled empathy - by listening carefully, showing concern for staff wellbeing, or encouraging them to consider citizen perspectives, it created space for them, encouraged them to bring empathy into their own work,” explains Mussagulova. 

Conversely, other respondents indicated that empathy wasn’t something their leaders encouraged or prioritised, signalling that “efficiency and outputs mattered more than people. 

According to Mussagulova, the challenge for leaders is that embedding empathy requires a cultural shift, not just rhetoric.  

She advises them to normalise the idea that empathy is not a "soft" or "biased" distraction from performance, but is instead "essential to carefully crafted policies". This means investing in training, creating reflective spaces for staff, and designing performance metrics that include citizen experience and not just cost.  

The challenge, however, is that public servants often face daily demands that push empathy into the category of an afterthought, says Einfield. 
 
“Public servants face tensions and trade-offs all the time – political demands for quick wins, tight budgets, and a long tradition of valuing neutrality and detachment in administration. 

“We can see that these seem to conflict, but there is an inherent potential of empathy to fully consider and understand the impact of difficult decisions,” she notes. 

Regardless, Einfeld states that one of the main benefits of empathetic approaches is that it invites civil servants to consider the impact on different communities and demographics. 

Empathy isn’t a one-size-fits-all concept and must be grounded in the lived experiences of all communities - not just the most visible or vocal ones. 

“Sometimes public servants can draw on their own experiences, but this has limitations. This is why we think that gathering evidence and discussing policies is so important,” Einfeld explains.  
 
Mussagulova adds that for policymakers in a very diverse Asia-Pacific region, the key is to approach empathy not as a “fixed skill” but as a “practice of cultural humility, curiosity and adaptability”. 

This means taking time to understand community-specific values, involving citizens as “experts of their own experience,” and recognising that structural factors, such as colonial legacies, inequality, or migration patterns, also shape how communities experience policy. 

“Practically, this can be done by embedding inclusive processes into policymaking. 

"For instance, using participatory design and co-production methods that bring in voices from minority and marginalised groups, ensuring consultations are conducted in local languages, and training civil servants in cultural competency,” Mussagulova says. 

A little empathy never hurts 

As with any professional competency, the duo believes that empathy can be learned and strengthened over time.  

The next step of their research includes developing a training course for public servants to help practice empathy systematically. 

“Our research shows that empathy isn’t just an innate trait some people are born with, it’s a skill that can be cultivated through practice, reflection, and training,” says Mussagulova. 

Techniques such as storytelling, role play, co-design with citizens, or even simply making space to listen deeply to others’ perspectives can all build empathetic capacity. 

She concludes: “With conscious effort, supportive leadership, and organisational structures that value people’s experiences, empathy can become a practical, everyday tool for better policymaking and service delivery.”