Emotions play a significant role in our lives, especially in the workplace. When we experience certain work situations, our emotions impact our energy levels, and this ripple effect can affect our interactions with others. Understanding our feelings at work and learning how to regulate ourselves to move into higher energy and headspace, benefiting ourselves and others, is essential. For instance, if you have recently gone through a layoff, feeling anxious and overwhelmed is easy. But by acknowledging these emotions, you can take control and make a plan to focus on what you can control. Similarly, if you feel useless and lacking purpose at work, you can find ways to demonstrate your value and gain the trust of your employer. Understanding your emotions can help you avoid falling into a negative headspace and ensure that your work interactions are positive and productive.
Here are some examples which show how understanding your emotions at work can help you learn how to regulate yourself and move into higher energy and headspace, causing a positive ripple effect in your life and those surrounding you.
“You were one of the fortunate ones to keep your job after the company laid off some employees. But now you feel like you must work harder to prove yourself. The anxiety builds up, and you vent to your friends who offer solutions, but it doesn’t seem like they understand the depth of your stress. You feel like you’re in this alone. Until you open up and say something like, ‘I’m high on anxiety and low on trust. My faith bucket is empty,’ you won’t be able to address the issue and move forward. You realize that this situation is a lesson tailor-made for you, affecting all areas of your life. You don’t trust anyone, not even yourself, at times, and you work hard to plan for bad things not to happen. Your job is the only place where you feel in control. You understand why the company made the layoffs, but you need to know if you have job security. You’re determined to pull yourself up but don’t know how. You try to accept a higher-level thought: ‘Gain control by not having to be in control.’ You sit with this new concept, even if you don’t believe it yet. Can you expect good things without having to control everything? Is it possible to change your mindset from always expecting the worst? This week you’ll focus only on what you can control. You’ll write down everything you have influence over, including your thoughts. Once you’ve shifted your mindset, it’s easier to think, ‘This is hard, and that’s okay.’ Job uncertainty is a challenging and uncomfortable position, but you accept it. Not everything in life is easy. It’s interesting to note that your shoulders feel less tense now.”
“You started your job at a new company with high hopes, but your boss hasn’t trusted you with much to do. You feel useless and like you’re not living up to your potential. This feeling of purposelessness is starting to seep into other areas of your life, and you feel overwhelmed. You’ve tried to reason with yourself, telling yourself that you’re new and need to earn the trust of your colleagues, but it’s not working. So you try gratitude instead, reminding yourself of the positives, like the great company and brand, the potential to work on more significant accounts, and the higher pay that will help you fund things you’ve dreamed out. You also decide to take control of what you can by delivering consistent quality work on your small assignments. You tell yourself that “he who is trusted with little is then trusted with much” and that, eventually, you’ll earn the trust of your colleagues and be given more meaningful work.“
“You’re a conscientious person who takes pride in quality work, but you work for someone who talks a good game but doesn’t follow through. You’re feeling resentful, and it’s affecting your interactions with others. You want to know how to get yourself out of this headspace. You realize that what’s bothering you is that you value follow-through and commitment, and your boss talks a big, charismatic game but is flaky on the execution. Because you hate how this makes you feel toward your boss and your work, you ask yourself some questions to try to introduce logic into the situation. You look up your boss’s personality type and find out he’s high on vision but scores low on execution. He’s also been under a lot of stress lately. You soften a bit and realize that maybe he’s just showing his dedication differently than you are. You ask yourself the question you’ve been avoiding, ‘What is this situation trying to teach me?’ You realize you must learn about the strengths, weaknesses, motivators, and fears of those you work with. You begin to feel more empathetic and don’t waste energy wishing your boss would change, which you can’t control. You do have control over how you lead those reporting to you, and you’ll continue to do good work there. You feel better now that you have a better understanding of the situation.“
Emotions are integral to our daily lives and can significantly affect our work environment. Our emotional responses to work situations can impact our energy levels, leading to a ripple effect that affects our interactions with others. Thus, we must be aware of our emotions at work, develop the skills to regulate ourselves and move towards a more positive headspace. Whether dealing with the aftermath of a layoff or feeling unproductive at work, acknowledging and understanding our emotions can help us regain control and focus on what we can influence. Doing so can prevent negative behaviors and ensure our work interactions remain productive and constructive.