Don’t drive angry.
Don’t tweet angry.
But going to work angry…well…that’s just the way of the world.
Right?
With the number of “disengaged” employees in the workplace at 26%, according to a recent Dale Carnegie study, it’s no wonder that people may occasionally show up to work:
- Pissed off
- Peeved
- Slightly miffed
Or any of the other amorphous euphemisms that we use to say “angry.”
The key to creating and retaining engaged employees is to actually engage with them.
And, according to the same study, “the number one factor [] cited influencing engagement and disengagement was “relationship with immediate supervisor.”
We wrote a couple of weeks ago about emotional intelligence and emotional illiteracy.
Too many organizations still prefer to have disengaged staff and team members who are coming to work to grind through their eight to twelve hour days and then go home. Underneath the watchful eyes of supervisors and managers that they do not respect, appreciate or even remotely like.
What’s the solution?
Training supervisors, managers and others in how to engage in empathy, even when it appears to be immediately unproductive;
Developing organizational cultures that truly allow caring and inclusion to be active values, not just ones that appear on the masthead or at the company party;
Encouraging C-suite and above individuals who set the corporate tone to seek out developmental coaching and therapy to understand why they tick.
Otherwise, coming to work angry will keep happening.
And it’s not that hard to imagine a future where violence mars the workplace in the same ways that it does our schools.
-Peace Be With You All-
Jesan Sorrells, MA
Principal Conflict Engagement Consultant
Human Services Consulting and Training (HSCT)
Email HSCT: hsconsultingandtraining@gmail.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HSConsultingandTraining
Twitter: www.twitter.com/Sorrells79
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/jesansorrells/
HSCT’s website: http://www.hsconsultingandtraining.com
