cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by pedroelnegro [ and Reverend Godless]
I recently read this comment in a blog post, but have seen it (or variations) several times:
“No one cares about your feelings at the work place. They expect you to get your job done.”
Really?
Why are our schools not the place where we start to build our preferred future? Why are they meant to fit in the model of what exists, or sometimes, what existed? If our dreams lie in our children, do we dream of them working in a place for 30 years where no one cares about anything other than the bottom line? Yes at some point, we did not know much about emotional intelligence and the effect it has on output, but we know better.
The reality of our world and economy is that if people have emotional well being, they will do much better and create higher profit. The idea that ‘money’ is the only motivator towards excellence is outdated. People need more of a purpose in something they spend at least one-third of their day doing:
…the well-being of employees is also in the best interests of employers who spend substantial resources hiring employees and trying to generate products, profits, and maintain loyal customers. To succeed in hiring, employers must provide tangible benefits. However, employees want more than a stable job with pension and benefits. Surveys of recent and upcoming generations of employees clearly show a majority of employees desire greater meaning and personal development from their work and suggest many workers see their work as a calling–enjoyable, fulfilling and socially useful (Avolio & Sosik, 1999; Wrzesniewski, McCauley, Rozin, & Schwartz, 1997)
As leaders, it is essential that we recognize the importance of this not only in ourselves, but in those we serve. Dr. Maynard Brusman discusses the importance of emotional intelligence in leadership and how we can sometimes get lost in the ideas of “what worked”:
“The more frequently you are promoted to higher levels of executive responsibility, the more important your interpersonal relationship skills are to your success—and the more challenging it is to change bad habits.It’s natural for successful people to believe that what contributed to their past accomplishments will continue to work for them. They also assume that they can—and will—succeed, no matter what.”
Brusman goes on to describe the characteristics of a “good” and “bad” boss, which also shows a high level of understanding and empathy:
To create the most productive work environments, we need to not only understand ourselves, but also those we work with.
Look at Google. One of the most successful companies in our world today does everything to build an environment where their workers are comfortable and feel that their needs are met. They know that if someone is valued, they will do a better job.
“Google is not a conventional company, and we don’t intend to become one. True, we share attributes with the world’s most successful organizations – a focus on innovation and smart business practices comes to mind – but even as we continue to grow, we’re committed to retaining a small-company feel. At Google, we know that every employee has something important to say, and that every employee is integral to our success.” Life at Google
We can take this as a “touchy-feely” approach to the workplace, but what if we look at from a profit standpoint? To make the most money from our organization, we need to treat our people as real human beings and show that they are valued. If they do that, their output will be higher, creating more prosperity and wealth for the company. This is not an “either/or” argument; we can care about the emotional well-being of those in the workplace AND can create greater revenue.
“Proponents of the well-being perspective argue that the presence of positive emotional states and positive appraisals of the worker and his or her relationships within the workplace accentuate worker performance and the quality of life. When environments provide and people seek out interesting, meaningful and challenging tasks, individuals in these situations are likely to have what Brim (1992) has called manageable difficulties and Csikszentmihalyi (1997) has described as optimal states. That is, when demands match or slightly exceed resources, individuals experience positive emotional states (e.g., pleasure, joy, energy) and they perceive themselves as growing, engaged, and productive (Waterman, 1993). From the well-being perspective, a healthy work force means the presence of positive feelings in the worker that should result in happier and more productive workers.” (Harter, Schmidt, and Keyes)
Yes…the job needs to get done. Treating someone as simply a worker and not a human, will not yield the same results.
That’s the bottom line.
