Emotions at work

“There is no place for emotions in the office” is a statement that we have often heard. 

For a very long time, emotions have been unwelcome at work. Employees had tasks to perform and it was considered unwise to let feelings to get in the way. Employees were expected to bring their “professional” selves to work, leaving their emotions at home.

Numerous studies conducted in the last couple of decades reveal that emotions are an integral part of our being. As shared in the previous issue of this publication, there are 4 dimensions of our self – our physical self, our mental self, our emotional self and our Core. At all times, all 4 dimensions play an active role in the way we think, feel and act. Extensive studies have shown that emotions play a major role in every decision we make, whether professional or personal. 

Let us understand Emotions in a little more detail. Emotions are energy that carry a charge with them. Energies that carry a positive charge are called positive emotions and energies that carry a negative charge are called negative emotions. These emotions are the index cards with the help of which we file our memories. Our life is made up of a series of experiences. Every experience has emotions associated with them. When experiences have negatively charged energies or negative emotions associated with them, we label such memories as painful, hurtful or traumatic. Whereas, when we have experiences that have positively charged energies or positive emotions associated with them, we term them as joyful, happy and cherished memories. Depending on the intensity of the emotions experienced, these memories become deep impressions within our being and drive our present thoughts, feelings and behaviours. 

The emotions that the majority of employees experience at the workplace, make up the culture of that place. Every organisation is like an iceberg. The visible 10% of the organisation is made up of the tangible products and services the company offers and the company’s output, in terms of performance. The invisible 90% is made up of the collective mindset of its employees, the lived values and the emotional culture of the organisation. This 90% has a direct impact on the organisation’s bottom-line.

Teams that experience a high degree of positive emotions like appreciation, gratitude, courage and love have a positive work culture. These individuals experience positive expansive emotions resulting in clarity of thought, sharper focus, enhanced creative abilities and access to higher decision-making powers.  On the other hand, teams that experience negative emotions like anger, blame, guilt and fear survive in a toxic work environment. These individuals experience contracting negative emotions and operate on survival mode characterized by short-term thinking and narrow self-interest. 

When employees are asked to leave emotions out of the workplace, they often end up suppressing their emotions. Suppressed emotions have a detrimental effect on the mind and the body, leading to stress, burnout and eventually result in low productivity and churn.

“Countless empirical studies show the significant impact of emotions on how people perform on tasks, how engaged and creative they are, how committed they are to their organizations, and how they make decisions. Positive emotions are consistently associated with better performance, quality, and customer service—this holds true across roles and industries and at various organizational levels.” – shares Sigal Barsade and Olivia A. O’Neill, in a Harvard Business Review article.

Daniel Goleman, who popularized the term Emotional Intelligence, actively advocates the need for Self-awareness – recognizing and understanding one’s own emotions – and Social-awareness – recognizing and understanding the emotions of others. However, many leaders feel ill equipped to understand and actively manage how employees feel and express their emotions at work. When employees are able to express themselves fully, they feel heard. 

Leaders need to be able to develop the quality of deep listening that allows complete expression in a safe, nonjudgmental environment. Here, the Core plays and active part once again. When the leader is able to connect with their Core, the deepest dimension of their being, and practice Core-led listening, they are not only able to facilitate complete self-expression in others but also help them find their own solutions to the challenges that they may be facing. 

Core-led listening begins with listening to one’s own self. We might begin by practicing listening to our body. We may then focus on listening to our thoughts and emotions. It is key to just listen and observe and not judge ourselves. Slowly we make progress to listening to and connecting with the deep silence of our Core.  

A Core-led leader exudes positive emotions of passion, courage, caring and compassion and provides the energy that the organisation needs to fuel its vision.