Emotions are energy in motion. Without them, we wouldn’t feel compelled to act, create, or move an inch. This is why they are so vital, not just in our personal lives, but also in the workplace. A company’s formal organizational structure is always invisibly overlaid with an informal network of relationships fueled by emotions.
Toxic positivity is forcing us to fake it
The pandemic has made us reassess our relationships, and what truly matters to us
- We feel strongly about work, and if this sentiment is not recognized by our employers, we quit
- Often the fear of organizational backlash prevents us from pursuing a more emotional life at work, very much at the expense of more fulfilling and effective work cultures
- How can we change this?
Emotions are complicated and granular
Emotions occur along a gradient and are not sharply distinguishable or mutually exclusive
- For a considerable period, common wisdom held that there are a base set of six “classic” emotions: happy, surprised, afraid, disgusted, angry, and sad
- In 2014, a study claimed there are only four basic emotions
- Then, in 2017, a 2017 study from UC Berkeley showed there are 27 categories of emotions
We must have empathy with ourselves
Empathy is the foundation for emotional intimacy within workplaces
- Difficult times must be met with the courage to meet difficult emotions in an effort to connect better with ourselves and others
- Facing-and living-all of our emotions, rather than just “managing” them, is the difference between a merely productive workplace and one we wholeheartedly want to be at
