Understanding Emotional Intelligence in the Workplace

Emotional intelligence is the capability of a person to recognize and understand the emotions of another person. It is an essential part of interpersonal communication and is seen as an essential quality of a person in workplaces too. An emotionally intelligent person can make wiser decisions, solve issues, and communicate efficiently with others. This is seen as an essential criterion while hiring candidates for a job.

Earlier, emotions and workplace didn’t work together. Managers often wanted their employees to keep the emotions out of the door and not get too involved on an emotional front in the workplace and with colleagues. However, it is seen that emotional psychology has become a greater interest in workplaces of late. Studies have suggested that emotional intelligence influences the relationship and interaction methods among colleagues. It has a crucial role in depicting how employees manage stress and conflict at work. As per research, employees with higher emotional intelligence scores tend to be rated higher on leadership capabilities, interpersonal functioning, and handling stress. 

Are you usually aware of how people around you are feeling?

While emotional skills may develop naturally in people, some activities can help them improve their ability to understand and reason with emotions more effectively. Factors like a person’s upbringing and personality play a significant role in developing emotional intelligence. 

Why Emotional Intelligence Matters in the Workplace

Emotional intelligence helps in effective communication, management, problem-solving, and maintaining relationships within the workplace. It is an acquired skill and can be developed with proper training and practice. People with a higher emotional quotient remain calm in stressful work situations, make better decisions, have higher empathy for people and situations, and listen and communicate well with others.

Increased Self-Awareness

The best way to utilize emotional intelligence in the workplace is to recognize one’s emotions. Self-awareness is the key to better handling of emotional situations. It is essential to pay attention to one’s feelings and how they impact the workplace surroundings. Also, it is better not to let loose emotions in the workplace; one should know their emotional strengths and weaknesses and work on them. Making hasty decisions based on intense emotions at the workplace can hinder the work, goals, and success.

Self-Regulation

Self-regulation is having control over one’s feelings. It is a critical part of emotional intelligence. A person who can self-regulate efficiently can adapt well to changing circumstances. They express themselves more efficiently without becoming impulsive at anything.  Self-regulation is handling stress at the workplace better, keeping calm during stressful work situations, and making better decisions.

Social Skills

A person with good emotional intelligence also has strong social skills. They are more proactive at responding well to situations and communicate with others. This creates a positive work culture in the workspace. Also, employees with excellent social skills can build a good rapport with colleagues and communicate their ideas more effectively. They can be good team members and even go forward to become great leaders.

They listen to others, actively respond to them, and have a better body language during communication. People with higher emotional intelligence also have better persuasive skills.

Empathetic

Emotionally intelligent people can empathize with people more brilliantly. They can step into another’s shoes and understand the situation more effectively. Empathy not only understands what others are feeling, but it is also about how one responds to others’ emotions.  Empathy at the workplace enables a person to understand the different dynamics of the workplace.  A person with higher emotional intelligence can see things from another person’s point of view. Though this can be challenging, the person doesn’t let disagreements build between his counterpart and spend time looking at the same situation from another’s perspective.

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