Are the Highly Sensitive Person at Work Likely to Feel Stressed and Empathetic?

Abstract

Some of us are highly sensitive to environmental stimuli. Such a sensitive person is called Highly Sensitive Person. According to the environmental sensitivity theory, highly sensitive persons are more likely to both negatively and positively respond to environmental stimuli (e.g., work stress and empathy). Given the environmental sensitivity theory, we hypothesized that the Highly Sensitive Person Scale (HSPS) would be positively correlated with stress perception, alienation, and empathy. An online survey of 270 Japanese workers was conducted. As predicted, correlation analysis in this study revealed that HSPS was linked to higher stress perception, alienation, and empathy. The result remained even after adding optimism and pessimism as covariates. These results support the environmental sensitivity theory at work, suggesting that highly sensitive workers are easily stressed but more empathetic with others.