Emotions play a large part in the workplace. Increasing research has actually shown that emotions are a critical part of rational thinking, as they help us understand the world and other people around us. Negative emotions can cause conflict in the workplace and, as stated in an Organizational Behaviour textbook, those who are able to control their emotions in order to think more rationally and are good at reading others can be more efficient in their job (Damasio, 1994). People with this skill are said to have a high emotional intelligent (EI, sometimes shown as EQ), defined as being able to detect and manage emotional cues and information. Not surprisingly, it is highly correlated with job performance. In an article for Entrepreneur, Travis Bradberry even states that this correlation is so significant that “90 percent of top performers have high emotional intelligence”.

This topic of EI being the factor that truly separates the most valuable employees from the rest of the workforce has been trending. This can be explained by the fact that emotional intelligence is proven to be a more vital quality in employees and leaders than intelligence quotient (IQ). People can be trained to do a job better, but EI is more intuitive and relates to how people operate and handle others in the workplace. Bradberry’s article gives 11 signs that can be used to measure your EI, and finishes off by stating that EI, like most cognitive skills, is an ability you can improve by practicing emotionally intelligent behaviours and therefore training your brain the right way to process emotions. I’ve actually experienced this first hand, as I mentioned in an earlier blog, at my previous job I had two bosses. The one with the higher EI was able to deal with all the employees without coming off as angry, and always handled conflict in a calm manner. As a result, my coworkers and I were more comfortable and therefore able to be more productive around her. While in contrast, the other owner always let her emotions control her angry, and reacted rather than processing the situation logically first and handling it in a calm manner. This made it hard to be around her, and therefore made us less productive.

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References:

Bradberry, T. (2017, January 24). 11 Signs That You Lack Emotional Intelligence. Entrepreneur. Retrieved from https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/288181

Damasio, A. R. (1994). Descartes’ Error: Emotion, Reason, and the Human Brain.