The importance of empathy in life and the workplace

By Emma Peterson. 

Caitlin Burke shares how overcoming health struggles influences her culture-based approach to recruitment and hiring.  

In a new episode of Contractor Outlook, Heidi J. Ellsworth sat down with Catilin Burke. Caitlin is a senior construction recruiter at Tiello, a breast cancer survivor and an autoimmune disease warrior/advocate. Her story starts in Chicago, Illinois with a love for soccer/football. This passion took her to Eastern Illinois University’s D1 program and later into the Professional American Football.  

Where Caitlin’s story took a turn that no one could predict was when she went in for what should have been simple hip surgery. She was meant to spend five days in the hospital and actually was there for over a month. She spoke a bit about this time, sharing, “It was 2022, I had hip surgery and, five days later, I couldn't feel my legs. It ended up going up to my chest and I spent the next 34 days relearning how to walk and having a bunch of tests done.” The answer Caitlin ended up getting for what had happened? A myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody disease (MOGAD) diagnosis. And, as if getting diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease that only one in 7,000 people have wasn’t a big enough curveball, Caitlin was diagnosed with breast cancer shortly after her MOGAD diagnosis.  

As you might imagine, this was a hard time for Caitlin that has shaped how she looks at the world today. She shared, “While going through my treatments, I was actually still working in recruitment and hearing all these stories from people that really resonated with me. Maybe they had a health thing like me, or someone they were close to did and it really helped me.” 

And not only did these connections help Caitlin feel less alone in her treatment, but it also imparted the importance of grace and empathy when hiring and working with employees. She explained, “A lot of companies don't understand things like this, like what I’ve been through. They assume that everyone is making stuff up, like their grandma died for the 10th time. And some people are. But others are going through some real stuff, and if you understand that, realize that people are human and give them some grace, you will build a culture that retains its employees and draws in new talent.” 

Want to hear more from Caitlin? Listen to our entire podcast with her or Watch the full recording!