Moods and emotions are an inseparable part of daily life and often play a critical work in work performance than most managers imagine. Because of the pressures and stress of work, more employees today are suffering from mental health concerns, such as stress, anxiety, and depression. These issues urge many companies to take workplace mental health seriously by promoting wellness and mental health training programs.
Instead of forcing a stress-free workplace, successful managers recognize the importance of emotional culture in affecting productivity and performance measures. With that in mind, we’ll talk about the importance of promoting a positive emotional culture in the workplace and how to practice it.
Encourage positive expressions
Bottling up emotions is like blowing a balloon. The more you blow air into it, the more likely it will pop. That’s what happens when you put too much pressure on your employees; they’re more vulnerable to various health risks, such as insomnia, headaches, heart disease, mental illness, autoimmune disorders, and intestinal problems.
Companies need to encourage an open workplace culture. An open culture means your staff feels comfortable expressing their thoughts and emotions. They feel at ease giving suggestions during meetings, which paves the way for creativity, innovation, and transparency in the workplace. More importantly, this generates a more sincere, positive, and constructive attitude among your managers and staff.
The opposite happens when employees keep their emotions and ideas in — they’re more likely disengaged and uncomfortable if they can’t express their ideas well. When people suppress their feelings, they tend to bottle up negative emotions, such as anger and anxiety. This will disrupt the normal function of their body, which leaves them exposed to various illnesses. If this affects their performance, it will also significantly impact the company’s productivity and bottom line.
Adjust expectations
We often find ourselves dealing with imbalanced, over-stretched work life. Beyond corporate life, some employees juggle their work with parenting, school, a part-time job, or a caregiver. Sometimes, schedules and routines become awry, and people’s patience gets tested.
As an employer, you have to focus on results and adjust expectations. Managers and teams should categorize which projects are urgent and non-essential to determine which activities are worth the time and effort and which ones don’t. If possible, empower employees to work only when they can and allow them to be offline when they need to. Trusting your employees will allow them to get on with their work and strive to do better.
Commit to regular communication
In any organization, communication opens opportunities for development. When managers disregard employees on critical issues, they feel more disconnected from their role and the company. As a result, they feel neglected and are more prone to join office rumors.
Leaders should be proactive in promoting direct and honest conversations across the organization. They should open opportunities for employees to speak out and be heard about issues they face at work. Encourage them to discuss their concerns during face-to-face meetings or casual conversations.
Ask for feedback
Asking for employee feedback is the best way to understand the different emotions they feel at work. Leaders should recognize the power of listening and making regular interactions. This will put them in a better position to respond to an issue before it’s too late.
When a stressful situation happens or something doesn’t look good, request feedback from all employees. But make sure to tailor the questions that will help you achieve your objective. For example, you can include relevant questions about engagement and motivation.
Another technique is to conduct focus group discussions about workplace culture. Ask them their thoughts and what they feel about it, and be quick to listen. Listening meetings are an effective tool to stay updated with your team. You can ask them what they want to talk about, but be slow when giving a response. You can also be open to them first so that they will follow your lead. In this case, the leader should know how to balance their emotional and cognitive sides.
These approaches will send a message to your team that you care for their emotions. From there, you can craft solutions to address their concerns and suggest strategies to help them cope.
As mental health issues become prevalent in the modern workplace, employers need to prioritize the emotional culture of their people. This can go a long way in protecting the health and productivity of their organization. So when uncertainties and forced change come on their way, it’s easy for everyone to manage their emotions and well-being.
