Leaders, let prosperity deepen your empathy

Reji Varghese

Current neuroscientific research reveals a troubling link between wealth, power, and declining empathy. UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Centre has found that people from lower economic backgrounds regularly feel compassion and empathise more with those in need. By contrast, wealthier individuals are more likely to justify greed as acceptable and even beneficial.

Research published in Psychological Science showed that power suppresses the brain’s empathy mechanisms, fundamentally changing how the wealthy process social information. Brain imaging by Northwestern University revealed that high-status individuals exhibit neural patterns similar to those of patients with damage to their empathy centres.

“Our brains are hardwired for social dominance and reward-seeking—a design that, when paired with increased wealth, makes power-preserving behaviours deeply reinforcing. This ‘wealth-empathy gap’ isn’t just social—it’s neurobiological,” notes psychotherapist Dr Trinjhna Khattar.

The Emotion journal further found that wealth increases confidence, but not compassion or love. 

Paul Piff’s well-known Monopoly experiment at UC Berkeley demonstrated how even artificial advantages quickly alter behaviour. Players randomly given “rich” roles — with more money and dice — spoke louder, moved aggressively, occupied more space, and consumed extra snacks. They later attributed their wins to skill, ignoring the unfair head start. Such findings show how quickly advantages reshape attitudes and actions.

What a lack of compassion can cost

The empathy gap has measurable consequences in business. Research in Harvard Business Review shows that teams led by low-empathy leaders collaborate less, solve problems poorly, and innovate less. The Centre for Creative Leadership found that such leaders miss vital emotional cues, lowering morale and accelerating burnout. “A good leader knows not only the value of empathy and compassion, but the criticality of demonstrating these values daily,” says Madhuri Menon, former Dean of Banyan Academy of Leadership in Mental Health.

Gallup data shows employees under insensitive leaders seek other jobs at a 40% higher rate. Replacing skilled workers costs 50%–200% of their salary, according to the Society for Human Resource Management.
The mismatch between confidence and compassion also impairs the decision-making of wealthy leaders, leading to costly strategic errors (Current Directions in Psychological Science). MIT Sloan research found that leaders lacking empathy struggle to understand customer needs, blinding them to market opportunities.

Restoring empathetic leadership

Research shows empathy can be rebuilt with intentional practices. UC Berkeley found that strategic nudges can guide leaders toward more egalitarian behaviour. Menon emphasises that unless empathy becomes part of an organisation’s DNA, training efforts will remain limited.

Exposure to diversity: The Journal of Applied Psychology reports that senior executives exposed to diverse teams show improved empathetic responses.

Feedback with empathy metrics: Companies tracking leaders’ emotional intelligence through 360-degree feedback see leadership effectiveness rise by up to 25%.

Perspective-taking practices: Meditation and exercises that encourage seeing through others’ eyes strengthen empathy-related brain circuits.

Cross-team interaction: Stanford research shows that leaders working with mixed teams develop stronger perspective-taking skills and unifying strategies.

Recognising privilege: Menon warns that entitlement often comes from advantages like wealth, education, or elite degrees. Training leaders to recognise these factors curbs arrogance and restores humility.

An implementation framework

Here is a practical three-phase model that can help organisations bridge the wealth-empathy gap:

Phase 1: Assessment: Establish baseline empathy levels in leadership through feedback from peers, subordinates, and stakeholders.

Phase 2: Intervention: Offer training programs that strengthen perspective-taking. Harvard Medical School research shows such training helps restore empathy.

Phase 3: Integration: Incorporate empathy metrics into evaluations, promotions, and compensation to ensure lasting behavioural change.

How companies benefit

Empathetic leadership delivers measurable advantages. Development Dimensions International found 40% higher employee engagement when leaders show empathy. Deloitte reports turnover falls by 50% in such companies, while McKinsey links empathetic leadership to 20% stronger business performance.

Leaders who care about others foster workplaces where employees share ideas freely, decisions are inclusive, and customer relationships deepen. In short, empathy becomes a driver of both innovation and loyalty.

Khattar concludes, “Awareness opens the door to change. Smarter organisations recognise that unlearning bias and dominance-driven reflexes is essential for a truly egalitarian, diversity-sensitive workplace. Fighting our brain’s dominance default isn’t easy — but it’s necessary if we want to build humane systems where power doesn’t diminish connection.”

By confronting the wealth-empathy gap, leaders can build resilient, innovative organisations that thrive in today’s interconnected world.

(The writer is a Chennai-based businessman)