Managing negative emotions at work

Hey you!

How are you? Take a minute and think about how you truly feel in this moment. Happy, sad, tired? or overwhelmed? For every professional I have spoken to in the last month, one word keeps coming across- “tired”. Most people seem to be tired and just can’t wait for the year to be over. Good news is that there is less than two months to that.?

Today, I want to talk to you about managing negative emotions at work. Have you ever worked at a company where the mood of the employees is solely dependent on that of their boss? If he is happy, then they are happy and vice versa. The employer is a walking ticking time bomb and the employees have no choice than to tiptoe around him. You are always apprehensive about resuming work on Monday, because you are uncertain of the version of your boss or manager you would experience per day or even per time. Will you be faced with the fun boss or the one that explodes and resorts to name-calling for a perceived slight??

Beyond bosses, we also have colleagues who are never able to manage their emotions and would always take it out on their team members. You keep wondering what unseen battle they are fighting and even try to make excuses for them. The only problem is, it never stops.?

I mentioned in the last newsletter that as much as we would like to divorce our personal from our professional lives, more often than not, those lines blur. That is where self awareness and emotional intelligence comes to play. Emotional intelligence is a crucial ingredient for a thriving workplace and a key component of that is emotional regulation. We need to be able to recognize, understand and control our responses to emotional triggers. And this requires making a conscious effort to ensure our responses are not dictated by our current emotional state.?

Your colleagues or employees are not your personal emotional regulator. They shouldn't have to bear the brunt of the shortfalls in your personal life. However, we are humans and sometimes we may slip up. That's where we show leadership and apologize. Don't thrive in frustrating your employees or colleagues. Don't be the person who everyone gives a wide berth because you are stressful to be around.?

The question to ask yourself is, "Are you the problem?" And if the answer is yes, what do you need to do differently?

Love & Light

Ujunwa