Author: Margarita Petropoulaki
Date of Publication: 20/06/2023
For a long time, people have pretended that they can deactivate their human side, turning themselves into emotionless productive robots. Emotions in the workplace, like displaying anger, fear, sadness, or even excessive happiness, has been the ‘’hot potato’’ of corporate life. However, how much of our true selves do we bring into our work without this human part of ours?
About emotional intelligence
In this article, we are going to talk about human beings and their emotions. In fact, we will start here: Emotional Intelligence (EI). Sounds fancy nowadays but back in the days it wasn’t even an existing term in our professional life. So let’s clear things out.
EI is not about how deeply you feel your feelings and it’s not only about how empathetic you find yourself to be to the people around you. Emotional intelligence is the ability to really know and understand yourself at any time, to ‘’read behind the words’’. Actually, it gives you the power to accept responsibility for your mistakes and let go. What’s more, it lets you maintain yourself in difficult situations and provides you with the charisma of resonating with people and circumstances.
To break it down, one of the most significant components of emotional intelligence is self-awareness. This is a great asset for team leaders and managers. Therefore, learning to understand and be honest to ourselves leads us to influence the world around us. So, it’s about time we left our guilt behind and embrace our vulnerabilities as a team.
How to communicate your emotions
The concept is that we all start from now on to be a little more human in our workplace. Good one! But how can we actually do so without overdoing it? Here comes the ancient Greek quote: ‘’All things in moderation’’. There is a wide spectrum of emotional expression. The golden rule is to open up while still prioritizing stability and psychological safety for both ourselves and our colleagues. Everyone can find themselves in need of other people to acknowledge how they feel. Yet no one wants to be part of an uncomfortable situation in which someone starts oversharing details of their personal life.
More specifically, next time you feel burnt-out or find yourself in a tricky personal situation, you may consider sharing it with your colleagues or manager. Briefly explain how you feel and why your performance has been poor for the last few days.
Another case is you may be facing some trouble in your work environment that prevents you from giving your best. Try to perceive your emotion and address the reason behind it. Now you are ready to vocalise it to your manager and ask for help.
Finally, keep your eyes and mind open. In order to establish a new work culture, you have to contribute your part. Read the room! Maybe there is someone next to you that feels burnt-out and seeks for help. Give it to them if you can.
Conclusion
Having a basic understanding of our emotional health plays a big role in our productivity. Every time we express an emotion, we give the opportunity to ourselves to grow and gain clarity in our lives. Thus, these are the chances we don’t need to miss.
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Reference List
Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace
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