Humans are creatures of routine, but we also are emotional. Most corporate jobs require a regular schedule and limitations that contrast with the daily twists and turns life keeps taking. Even within the work environment, a simple task or a final project may cause a sudden change on the way we feel and react. Fisher (1997) took an interest in analyzing the emotional differences among workers, since irrational feelings were deemed as unimportant behaviors at work. Her study found that occasionally, negative emotions such as frustration and aggravation found their way into the work environment.
Intelligence, determination, vision and toughness all contribute to a leader’s success, but as Goldman (1998) found, it’s the degree of emotional intelligence that differentiates a great leader from merely a good one. His studies recorded that senior managers who had a high amount of emotional intelligence outperformed earning objectives by an outstanding yearly 20%.
Having the ability to control and redirect the emotions that these bumpy situations create upon us is one of the keys of success within the work environment, Goldman (1998) suggests. He lists that self-regulation and self-awareness are key indicators within emotional intelligence, also stating that it’s the organization’s responsibility along with the will of the individual person to focus on helping people break behavioral habits and establish new ones.
Personally, I think there’s still room to develop a theory on how we can improve our reactions at work (after identifying Goldman’s key indicators), since every person is different. Also, I’ve found that not only situations at work make people more stressed, as external factors play a significant role in the way we react to failure in the work. Mixing a bad month at home with a tough project on a tight deadline is probably going to further exasperate the worse side of ourselves. A broader study on these conditions could lead into shedding some light on how to deal with emotions at work.
References
Fisher, Cynthia D. (1997) Emotions at work: what do people feel and how should we measure it? Bond University. ePublications@bond. Retrevied from: http://epublications.bond.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1066&context=discussion_papers
Goldman, Daniel. (1998) What Makes a Leader? Harvard Business Review. January 2004. https://hbr.org/2004/01/what-makes-a-leader
