Continued from last week
Employee engagement and emotional outcomes are interrelated. In theory, highly engaged employees are more open-minded when it comes to potential outcomes of negative emotions. Yet, they are more close-minded when it comes to potential outcomes of positive emotions. On one hand, engagement is a negativity filter. At the same time, it promotes positivity bias. In conclusion – highly engaged employees are more positive than less engaged employees. But it is also possible that disengaged employees have a harder time coping with emotions in healthy ways. Managers must consider evolving their approach to disengaged employees by viewing them through the lens of reconnection and help them strengthen their coping mechanisms to handle stress at work.
Quantum Workplace research stated how managers can manage emotions in the workplace. When left unchecked, employee emotions can have a serious impact on others and the workplace. Managers must make sure they understand each of the unique emotions of employees and strive to find the right balance of supporting and preventing the negative ones at work. Building a culture of trust and practising emotional intelligence skills can allow employees to acknowledge, feel, and express more positive emotions in the workplace. The following are some ways to manage emotions in the workplace:
Coping mechanisms for employee emotions
Coping mechanisms are the tools and strategies that can be used to deal with stress in our lives. Our various ways of coping eventually create a coping strategy. You can cope with stress in positive or negative ways. A negative coping strategy might be to ignore your problems and emotions, hoping they work themselves out. But that can be bad for your overall health. Positive coping strategies allow you to deal with stress in healthy ways.
Managing your own emotions
The best thing you can do to combat negative moral emotions and their repercussions is to understand how to deal with emotions. Take the Recognise, Understand, Manage (RUM) approach when dealing with emotions at work.
Recognise: When emotions start to bubble up, do not panic. Take a deep breath and recognise the emotion for what it is. Do not react immediately. Instead try to put a label on what it is you are feeling. Determine when you became aware of the feeling and what triggered it. Do not judge yourself for how you feel.
Understand: After you have named your emotions, focus on the “why” behind them. Follow them down the pathway to where you are now with questions like these: If you feel upset, what is causing you to feel that way? Are your emotions coming from something within you, or something external? If it is a familiar emotion, think about other times you have felt this emotion and how you previously responded. What went well? What didn’t? How do you want to respond differently at this moment?
Manage: Once you have taken time to cool down and reflect, the third and final step is managing the situation. You need to figure out how you are going to respond, if at all. There are no hard and fast rules on how to respond, but here are a few things to consider: Do you still feel the need to address the situation? Are there things that need to be resolved before you can move forward? What will you say when you address the situation? What might others involved say? What did you learn from this situation that you will do differently or improve upon in future situations?
There are tested tips on how to deal with employees’ emotions. Regardless of how well you handle your own emotions, you cannot control the emotions of others. But it is important to learn how to acknowledge them and respond appropriately. Unresolved issues can lead to decreased productivity, damaged relationships, and lowered engagement. The following tips will help in dealing with your employees’ emotions and building a stronger emotional culture at work:
- Allow for mistakes: No one is perfect – plain and simple. Mistakes are inevitable and, although they do not need to be simply accepted, they also are not grounds for scolding. Berating or punishing employees can cause humiliation and hostility. Calmly correcting or excusing the rare mistake is a great way to build trust. In fact, helping reduce negative emotions with transparency, open communication, and authenticity will lead to better relationships with your employees. But if mistakes continue to pile up, you should schedule time with your employees to create a performance improvement plan. This plan will help make sure both parties are on the same page and set clear expectations for success.
- Build a culture of trust: Sharing emotions, especially uncomfortable ones, is one way people experience vulnerability. But we cannot be vulnerable if we do not trust the people that we are sharing our stories with. You are not vulnerable if you trust a colleague and he disappoints himself. Everyone in your organisation should feel comfortable being themselves and expressing their emotions. It is not enough just to let employees know they can share their feelings – managers must be willing to be an example too. When employees can witness a culture of honesty and compassion, they will be able to understand and adapt to others’ emotions.
- Be present for your employees: When managers and leaders are unavailable, employees may feel anxious, undervalued and unrecognised. Make time to connect with your team to instil confidence in your employees, their work, and their performance. Empowering your team members to stay connected in this way helps build positive relationships. Set uninterrupted time apart for each employee at least once a month. And if you are really committed to the cause, human resources experts recommend meeting once a week – even for a quick check-in. These meetings offer employees an opportunity to ask questions, provide updates, raise concerns, and provide feedback. This approach is better than the yearly appraisal system. Meeting times are perfect times to celebrate successes to increase positive emotions in the workplace and not to condemn.
- Listen more than you talk: Most times, employees who experience negative emotions are not searching for solutions. They want to express themselves and release their pent-up emotions to a confidant. Listening to your employees, as a manager, allows them to pass it all out and makes them feel cared for and heard. It also establishes a manager as a trusted resource that can be depended on. When a manager is dealing with someone else’s emotions, he should be patient to understand what they are feeling and why. Ask them how they are feeling and if they are okay. If they do not want to talk or say everything, respect their wishes and do not pressure them any further. If they do want to talk it out, find a quiet and private space and listen. Ask for how they think they can solve the situation and offer advice.
Employees are humans, and humans are emotional creatures. Addressing emotions is important for recognising your employees for who they are and improving your corporate emotional culture. This will help you achieve your targets in the long-run.
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