The value of emotions at work
Emotions have a bad name in the workplace. A study by the University of Missouri shows that people prefer not to see strong feelings from their colleagues, whether negative or positive. Regularly expressing anger or sadness might give the impression that you’re not a stable personality and when you show too much joy about a promotion or result, you’re a show off. A true professional doesn’t show what is going on inside their head or heart. Good managers are rational, objective and always in control. There is only one problem: people aren’t like that.
We’re all people and we all have feelings. We can’t leave those feelings at home when we go to work. The best employers know this and develop the emotional intelligence of their people. The value of EQ at work is very clear to them.
1. We can’t make decisions without involving our feelings
Evidence that we’re not making our best decisions rationally is accumulating fast. We like to make lists with pros and cons, opportunities and threats, but we often find that when the list for our favourite decision is not positive enough, we quickly come up with a few reasons to make it so. Sound familiar?
According to the latest psychological research, conscious thinking is especially useful for simple decisions, choosing a toothpaste for example. When making bigger decisions, such as buying a new car, choosing a new job or facing a crucial conversation, you’d better switch on your unconscious by sleeping on it for another night. Then you’ll ‘know’ in the morning whether your rational choice feels right.
2. Good working relations are based on feelings
No team, department, project group or organisation works without good relationships between people. These relationships are one of the greatest sources of pleasure at work. You don’t work well with Peter and Claire because you have rationally concluded that they’re needed for the project, but because you get along well with them. Because you like each other. Because you trust each other.
3. Feelings are the basis for motivation and commitment
Organisations want people who are not only interested in getting a salary, but who are engaged and motivated. To encourage this, companies increasingly pay attention to happiness at work and employee engagement. Whether or not we are engaged at work is again not a rational, but an emotional process. Do I feel at home? Do I get enough attention? Am I heard and seen? Do I have good relationships with my colleagues and managers? These are all factors that play an important role in Gallup’s engagement studies.
4. Without feelings there is no room for creativity or innovation
Innovation and creativity are high on the agenda for most companies. The ability to see new opportunities or alternative ideas is highly valued. Imagination, letting go of patterns, postponing judgment, making use of intuition and being able to associate flexibly are all parts of creativity. Albert Einstein wondered why his best ideas came when he was shaving. He said creativity was intelligence having fun. Let’s have some fun!
At Development@Work we find EQ essential for the development of our customers and ourselves. Do you want to know more about this topic, or get in touch with us? You can reach us by telephone +31 (0)6 8321 9170, or e-mail to info@developmentatwork.nl.
