For Amit Garg, the working environment has not been the same anymore post the pandemic. The 32-year-old Hyderabad-based computer engineer not only has to look after his own work-life balance in a hybrid mode but also manage several team members working remotely and reach out to them for emotional support. “To manage people dealing with emotional stress or anxiety is quite demanding. Not every person has the same level of emotional intelligence. Some cope up with the existing work pressure while others give in through emotional outbursts or dismissal to work. Some have even gone to the extent of handing in their resignations,” says Garg, who has in the past six months hired three new technology assistants in his team for managing workplace stress and dissatisfaction after receiving feedback from resignees.
According to Garg, the need to motivate others and drive team performance in this physically disconnected workspace is difficult. “It’s a challenge to deal with stress and emotional support more than ever, to lead teams remotely or from office, or deal with emotions (temper or humour) and empathise with colleagues,” he adds.
No wonder emotional intelligence, or the ability to understand and manage one’s own emotions while recognising how they influence others, has become a top priority for the corporate world.
Also Read| Janmashtami 2022: What you must know about Vrindavan’s Bankey Bihari Temple
EQ is the new IQ
Emotional intelligence in the workplace matters much more for leaders and managers in today’s world as remote work expands widely during and after the Covid-19 pandemic. The Netherlands is now aiming to make remote working flexibility a lawful right, a move that will allow better work-life balance and reduce time spent on commuting. Some Indian companies like Swiggy have already given employees a permanent work-from-anywhere option as well as introduced a new moonlighting policy that lets employees take up side gigs or a second job outside the normal business hours. Apart from Swiggy, other start-ups like Meesho, NoBroker, and Zerodha have allowed most employees to permanently work from home.
With rising competition, EQ is important for professional success as it defines how an employee responds in a social setting. Psychologists have defined EQ as a skill set that includes self-awareness, self-regulation, self-motivation and a sum of social competencies such as intuition, empathy and social responsibility.
Vidhi Tamboli, founder of The Mood Space, an online therapy platform for individual and corporate counselling, says, “Leaders with high levels of EQ are better able to manage conflict in the workplace, which involves taking time to understand different perspectives towards establishing middle ground in disagreements.”
In a fast-paced work environment, it is challenging for people with low emotional quotients not to get overwhelmed. Hence, emotions at the workplace are crucial, especially in dynamic times. “Leaders coach the young team members to take complex situations in their stride by promoting an open communication culture. The idea is not to make people impassive but to enable them to balance professional and personal situations. It is good to have emotions, but it is essential to identify the extent to which one can behave or reflect emotionally while at work,” says Shreedha Singh, CEO and co-founder of skincare brand The Ayurveda Company.
Setting new boundaries
A new study by online professional network LinkedIn suggests a shift in how professionals are expressing themselves at work. Nearly two-thirds (63%) admitted to having cried in front of their boss—a third (32%) having done so on more than one occasion, and 76% professionals in India feel more comfortable expressing their emotions at work post-pandemic. This shift is also being reflected on LinkedIn, which has seen a 28% rise in public conversations on the platform.
While showing more emotions at work could be the secret to better staff morale in the hybrid world of work, with 87% agreeing that doing so makes them more productive and boosts feelings of belonging, 70% believe there is a stigma around sharing feelings at work.
Based on a survey of 2,188 professionals, the research reveals that Gen Z (41%) and millennials (47%) have felt the benefits of flexible working too, as they agree it has encouraged them to open up more often in front of their colleagues. In fact, Gen Z (62%) and millennials (69%) are also seeing a stronger response from their online community, with around two-thirds saying they received more support when they opened up on LinkedIn.
Over 76% of professionals in India agree that ‘cracking a joke’ at work is good for office culture, but more than half (56%) consider it to be ‘unprofessional’. “The past two years have been tumultuous to say the least but have also made people realise that they can be more vulnerable and candid with each other at work. This has become more apparent on LinkedIn, where people are not just talking shop but also expressing how they take care of themselves by setting new boundaries and balancing life with work,” says Ashutosh Gupta, India country manager, LinkedIn.
Lending a hand
Global technology company ABB regularly sensitises around topics like how it’s important to seek help when needed, denial can do one more harm than good, emotions make humans, and why it’s important to respect and value differences. The company’s Employee Assistance Program gives access to expert counsellors where employees can share their anxieties, fear without worrying about being judged. “During Covid-19, we ran an internal campaign ‘Here for Each Other’ encouraging employees to speak openly on dealing with uncertainty. Another programme called ‘Are You Okay’ aims to increase awareness and understanding of mental health conditions,” says Raman Kumar Singh, CHRO, ABB India, whose ‘Managers as Coaches’ programme sensitises managers to lead with empathy giving their teams the space to open up as individuals. “That’s why managers are evolving into the role of coaches, wherein their role goes beyond just professional guidance,” adds Singh.
Also, the power of social connection at the workplace creates strong advantages like ensuring the employee puts in discretionary efforts, enhancing collaboration and teamwork, ensuring employees stay connected when things get tough. However, one of the most significant watchouts would be the danger of affecting the dispassionate professional. “We develop the emotional connect through ensuring that employees are heard through various listening forums and tools, encouraging ‘conversations’ between managers and employees, and giving clarity and transparency about the present and the future,” says Satyajit Mohanty, vice president – HR, Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals.
Employees who empathise are better poised to become future leaders. There might be no downside of having emotional intelligence but an imbalanced workforce with a section of employees who have no understanding or awareness of themselves, or their social competencies should be addressed. Pavithra Sathyakumar, head-HR, Vibrant Energy, a developer of open access renewable energy solutions, says, “We reiterate the values (integrity, mutual respect, empathy, teamwork, positive mindset and peak performance) on the importance of EQ. We identify personality types, resolve conflicts and build effective teams to balance the workforce and enable employees to be more self-aware of their surroundings and co-workers as well. Sathyakumar has initiated a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), a personality assessment report, for employees to help identify their personality traits, strengths, and preferences. The goal is to explore their own personalities including their likes, dislikes, strengths, weaknesses, possible career preferences and compatibility with other people.
Mental wellbeing
Workplace wellbeing is important to steer clear of burnout. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recognised burnout as an official syndrome stemming from chronic workplace stress. In fact, Steve Hasker, president and CEO of Thomson Reuters, sent a message to global employees in 2020, which read as: “If there’s one thing 2020 has taught us, it’s the value of having the mind-space to deal with the unexpected.”
However, mental fatigue or wellbeing and emotional breakdown seem to be an inevitable offshoot of the pandemic. Break-less hours of work, neverending screen time and exhaustion have led to mental fatigue as the remote work marathon continues throughout the year. Research has shown that experiencing signs of burnout is becoming a constant across industries. Dr Achal Bhagat, senior consultant psychiatrist and psychotherapist, Apollo Hospitals, and chairperson of Saarthak, a mental health organisation in Delhi, feels, “Burnout has been reported to be the commonest presentation in organisations. It includes disillusionment with the response to stressful situations. Indecision, withdrawal, mental arguments, anger outbursts and lack of sense of accomplishment, besides moral injury, are a few well-recognised phenomena where the person may feel guilty for having to work against their personal code of conduct. Organisations need to become points of service delivery for mental health services. But solutions are sometimes ‘tokenistic’ and restricted to events around mental health.”
Employees who constantly work for long hours without internal purpose have a higher burnout and attrition rate. This is where many companies have ensured not only reduced work hours of the employees but also ensure that they find meaning in the work they are working for.
Mental wellbeing is a big focus for Lakshmi C, MD and lead – human resources, Accenture, India. “We reduce the stigma around mental health, create psychologically safe spaces to discuss important things and leverage a combination of resources—human plus technology—so that they can reach out, ask for help, or say, ‘I’m not okay’.”
Accenture’s Employee Assistance Programme is 24/7, offers complimentary professional counselling support to staff and families. Through regular ‘Ask Away’ sessions, employees interact with eminent global and national experts on building mental resilience, staying happy, healthy and coping with stress. “We enable leaders and people managers through training, so they lead with compassion and identify any early signs of stress among their team members,” she adds.
DLF Foundation, the philanthropic arm of DLF Group, a pioneer in real estate investments, along with the district administration of Gurugram, started iWill Care, a platform for mental health counselling and support for city residents. “With so much misinformation around mental health, even the most educated communities are hesitant to seek professional help. People living or working in a city like Gurugram have little time to think about their mental well-being. iWill Care offers much-needed support to those exposed to high levels of anxiety and stress on a daily basis,” says Gayatri Paul, CEO, DLF Foundation.
Mental health issues have emerged as one of the leading causes of health burden, further exacerbated by lack of information, awareness, and understanding of the subject. As top priority for corporations nowadays to ensure that employees have work-life balance and good family time, they regularly organise fitness classes, counselling sessions for employees’ physical and mental wellbeing.
“When a company cares for the wellbeing of its employees, this kind of caring culture leads to energised teams and higher productivity,” says Rashmi Mansharamani, CHRO, Wave Group, chairman, CII, HR (Western UP). The group’s business portfolio includes manufacturing, entertainment, education, healthcare and real estate.
But how much control do leaders have over the workplace and should leaders be considered mental health role models? “Mental health awareness, coupled with appropriate resources, can transform corporate leaders into caring and nurturing visionaries. Behaviour and emotional maturity in both leaders and employees are prominent leadership aspects that impact mental wellness,” says Sonal Arora, country manager, Gi Group Holding, India, an integrated HR services company.
All-round development
Besides organising workshops on topics like stress management and habit reformation to chair yoga right up to learning to manage finances better with leading experts in the field, brands like The Good Glamm Group and Lam Research focus on the employees’ overall development.
“We conduct internal surveys to gain insight from employees to understand what they need to ensure a healthy work-life balance and mental health wellness,” says Kartik Rao, group chief people officer, The Good Glamm Group, a D2C beauty conglomerate. The Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) initiatives at Lam Research India, a semiconductor innovation and related services company, use a rounded approach to combat various issues in personal and professional lives. From discussion on issues like relationship milestones, managing money, to moving to a new location, family or personal crisis, there’s information, advice, and support in 14 languages, besides daily mood tracking on app and personalised progress.
EQ is also essential for conflict management in a workplace to promote the ability to support others through uncomfortable situations. “Being emotionally intelligent can help promote a healthy work atmosphere and teamwork, fostering the development of a shared vision among team members. As a result, stress is reduced, business performs better, and overall communication is improved,” says Abhishek Negi, co-founder of Eggoz Nutrition, an egg-focused consumer brand.
When employees informally interact outside office, exchange views about professional growth, and help each other in attaining goals, it helps them understand their EQ. “We plan weekend employee gatherings to enjoy happy hours, have meals together and participate in sports or entertainment activities,” adds Negi.
Happilo, a healthy snack brand, has switched to EQ to ensure accessibility to mental wellbeing. “We seek employee feedback through employee satisfaction surveys, pulse surveys, team huddles and invest in wellness programmes like sports & fitness activities, community activities regularly for employees’ benefit,” says Siva Kumar, HR head, Happilo.
However, for a lifestyle startup brand Zouk, a high emotional quotient helps to achieve targets where most members are young and ambitious. They enter as high-potential individual contributors and want instant success or want to lead teams. Folks with high EQ are bound to succeed and promoted by companies to become leaders, shares Pradeep Krishnakumar, co-founder, Zouk. “We talk about the importance of empathy and train young employees to build that muscle. Those with high EQ often grow to become a leader and this helps other colleagues in following and working together to look up as a mentor to guide them in their journey,” says Krishnakumar.
