The corporate world of business is at an all-time high, and the era is witnessing newer trends in organizations like an increase in cut-throat competition, skill improvement activities, race for promotions and higher remuneration, learning new technologies, employee training and workshops and the list goes on! In a time when everyone is so focused on financial and business growth and technological innovation, we oftentimes forget to gain a fair share of mental health and emotional well-being.
And this is when we start losing work-life balance, become indifferent to maintaining healthy people relationships and let frustration and insensitivity creep inside of us. This is why companies must care about fostering an environment of Emotional Intelligence at work – coz it is the breeding ground of leadership, effective managerial skills and employee sensibility.
What is Emotional Intelligence?
The term was first coined in the early 90s by scholars. In simple words, Emotional Intelligence refers to one’s capability to possess the right set of positive emotions that helps the person to control and leverage them in order to monitor and mentor others’ emotions. An emotionally intelligent person would seamlessly understand, recognize and manage his/her own emotions, without letting it control his/her mind and behaviors. The same capability allows the person to influence and channel other people’s emotions as well – to create a win-win atmosphere.
Why is EI a must for today’s employees to create a healthy and happy life at work?
The office is where we spend almost half of our day, and the people we interact with at work are the ones we meet every day. No wonder, that office is called by some as a home away from home and the colleagues become sort of our extended family. But the routine work of chasing targets, deadlines and revenues tends to take a toll on our physical, emotional and mental health and sometimes, even unknowingly, we let the stress and frustrations at work get the better of us.
This leads to ego battles, envy and jealousy, unwanted rivalry, insecurities and a sense of hollow pride and aloofness. Now imagine a workplace filled with all these negative vibes and malevolent emotions? It becomes next to impossible for most people to perform, stay productive and demonstrate creativity under such conditions – and at the end of the day, revenue gets hampered!
How fostering an environment of EI can help organizations?
Emotions are the strongest of the triggers that drive human beings to a specific action or decision, and if rationalized with positive motives, they can bring immense joy, satisfaction, success and a sense of fulfillment in our lives. Organizations above all, can benefit to a great extent by harnessing an atmosphere of Emotional Intelligence and its 5 core elements.
Self-Awareness
Emotionally intelligent employees are self-aware of their emotions, moods, motivations and abilities. They understand the effect they have on the people around them and hence act respectfully and responsibly to ensure that their actions and behaviors don’t hurt, insult or belittle anyone in the office. In fact, they are able to channel their positive emotions to uplift someone’s mood, motivate their team, show confidence, inspire others to perform better, be humble to own their mistakes, appreciate co-workers’ efforts and thought processes and spread smiles across the company.
Self-Regulation
This element of EI teaches people to take control of their impulses, instincts and emotional triggers. A company loves to have employees who are self-regulated as they would have the ability to think twice before saying anything, acting or responding under stressful and challenging situations, and expressing themselves aptly. Self-regulation refers to a vital emotional maturity that enables the person to embrace change and adapt to it without losing patience and perseverance. It helps one to take responsibility for one’s words, actions and results and to stay calm and composed even in the face of adversities and irrationalities.
Motivation
At work, nothing works more wonderfully than positive motivation for oneself and for the entire team, This EI element is especially required in corporate leaders who are looked at by their subordinates as a source of inspiration, goodwill, knowledge, trust and benevolence. A company that follows the motto of leading through example should know that Emotional Intelligence begets a sense of motivation that drives employees as well as managers to strive better each day without fostering any feelings of ego, uncertainty, insecurity and envy. Motivation should be there to perform better and help others perform better. Passion and compassion should go hand in hand.
Empathy
Empathy makes us what we are – humans! As an important element of EI, empathy allows us to understand other colleagues’ emotions, feelings and reactions at work. Empathy can be called a by-product of self-awareness and an empathetic employee can make a great future leader as he/she would know, understand and analyze how certain people react under certain situations. Empathy frees us from self-perceived notions of others and makes us less judgemental, allowing us to anticipate others’ emotional response to a given situation and hence guide us to find balance in the midst of chaos. It gives us the power to forgive others’ actions and behaviors and give things a fresh start – a much-needed aspect in any company.
Social Skills
Humans are social animals, and aloneness pulls us down! Now imagine a company that is brimming with happy employees, smiling at and accepting their own follies and laughing over shared jokes, without feeling offended by sarcastic comments and constructive criticisms. Yes, such a euphoric atmosphere ushers in productivity, self-motivation, team spirit, helpfulness and above all – a feeling of joy for others’ success! Social skills teach us to be like this and no wonder, an organization would be lucky to have employees with enriched social intelligence that can charge up the entire environment with positivity, certitude and trust in each other.
It’s high time companies should start harboring and fostering an atmosphere of Emotional Intelligence across all teams and employees. It doesn’t only give rise to leadership, able managerial capabilities, open and clear communications, improved relationships and employee productivity but also reflects the same zeal and passion to the clients and customers. Happiness is infectious and addictive! A win-win for the company, its people, revenue and the customers!
We at Scalefusion, make every effort to embrace and imbibe the essence of Emotional Intelligence amongst us.
