Emotional Intelligence at Work – 8 emotional drivers of engagement

Human or machine – emotions in the workplace

Feeling’s emotions accompany us all the time; they are an integral part of life. Many people think that the professional sphere should be separated from the emotional aspects. Of course, excessive emotions are not a good counselor at work, but is it possible and reasonable to exclude such elements from the professional sphere?

It is not difficult to imagine such a workplace – both employees, superiors, and the employer focus only on rationality efficiency, and the employee is just a kind of cog in the machine. Emotions are left at the threshold of the workplace, office. It is a bit like a robot replacing a man at the workplace. This vision seems quite terrifying and dehumanizes the whole idea of work.

Why? Because it is the feelings and emotions that give meaning to daily functioning. Of course, productivity and achieving results matter, but would there be development without this sense of purpose? Would anyone want to do something more just to increase efficiency without the expected satisfaction? That is why we cannot forget that emotions in the workplace are of crucial importance.

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Emotional Intelligence at work, or feelings as a foundation

On the positive side, it is increasingly being said that emotions need to be taken care of and that we need to learn to express, feel, and control them. This ability, referred to as Emotional Intelligence, is increasingly a desirable trait for employees and managers.

Every situation, every task at work is accompanied by certain feelings, although we are not always aware of them. However, the employee often does not feel satisfied with what he/she does; his/hers engagement and willingness to work decrease, although he/she does not know why. He/she works, acts, performs his/hers duties, but he/she does not focus in any way on the deeper layer of his/hers work and therefore does not look at some emotions that it evokes. He/She explains the constant fatigue that accompanies him/her by the time of year, the too-short vacation, or the situation at home.

On the other hand, managers may explain such a situation by the employee’s laziness or even family problems. But the reason may be completely different. Take a moment to examine your emotions at work, or talk to your manager, who has an elevated level of emotional intelligence and will be able to ask the right questions. You may find that your primary driver of work fatigue is a sense that your work is not meaningful, does not contribute to the business’s success, or does not provide any opportunities or stimulation for growth.

Identifying the problem allows you to solve it, and the Emotional Intelligence of employees and the Emotional Intelligence of managers are proving to be beneficial skills in this regard. Thanks to them, among others, emotions at work can be managed to some extent.

Emotions versus engagement

Emotional elements, therefore, have a significant impact on the engagement of employees – the extent to which they feel good at work, how attached they are to the company, co-workers, whether they want to stay in it and work for it not only to the extent required of them by their superior. This all translates into their effectiveness and quality of work. There are many such emotional elements. However, eight of them are considered the most important for building employee engagement.

The eight most critical emotional drivers of employee engagement:

1. Pride – in what you do, your role at work, and the company you work for.

1. Recognition – for well-done duties, appreciation for actions, successes, giving value and meaning to work.

1. work stimulation – the feeling that work is challenging, something interesting, not causing constant boredom and discouragement.

1. personal development – the feeling that work is an opportunity for growth on many levels.

1. awareness – vision and mission of the organization, that what you do is consistent with it and helps achieve the company’s goals.

1. Positive work environment – being surrounded by supportive, positive people in the workplace, building personal relationships, bonding, and therefore belonging to the team.

1. Relationship with the superior – built on honesty, openness, trust, and support for the employee.

1. sense of empowerment – awareness that you impact what is happening in the organization, its goals, strategy, and decisions, ways to solve problems.

At first glance, not all drivers are elements directly connected with the emotional aspects of work. Each is strongly associated with how an employee feels, what emotions relate to his work, and what he does. The awareness to pay attention to such aspects, ask oneself and others the right questions, and explore emotions is an integral part of building employees’ emotional commitment.

Therefore each of these drivers should be looked at more closely and how their positive impact on engagement can be improved. It is also essential to always keep in mind how crucial emotions are in the workplace and take care of them, among other things, by developing a competence such as Emotional Intelligence at work. Work on employees’ emotions should begin with a regular survey of their current involvement in the emotional dimension. Such a survey can be done on the Enpulse platform!

Schedule a 30-minute interview and learn more about engagement in the Emotional, Motivational and Rational Dimensions.

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