{"id":2382,"date":"2016-03-01T16:15:55","date_gmt":"2016-03-01T21:15:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/?page_id=2382"},"modified":"2019-11-14T12:57:25","modified_gmt":"2019-11-14T17:57:25","slug":"put-your-emotions-to-work","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/questrom-magazine\/spring-2016\/put-your-emotions-to-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Put Your Emotions to Work"},"content":{"rendered":"

When was the last time you asked<\/strong> your employees about their passions? Their hopes and fears? In conversations about work, managers tend to emphasize job performance and overlook the most important aspect of employee engagement, says Professor of Organizational Behavior William Kahn<\/a>. To feel fully engaged in our work, we need to be emotionally invested in it.<\/p>\n

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Don’t Do That<\/strong> Whether implicitly or explicitly, organizations indicate that professionalism requires leaving emotion at the door, says Kahn. But promoting that mentality does a disservice both to employees and your organization.<\/p>\n

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Do This<\/strong> Take the time to ask each individual: What are you passionate about? Do you believe your work is meaningful? Do you feel valued? Until you address these questions, you\u2019ll \u201conly get part of the employees\u2019 energy, commitment, and enthusiasm,\u201d says Kahn, who recommends helping staff members find ways to match their passions with the company\u2019s needs. Engaging negative emotions is equally important; when we ignore anxiety, it festers and distracts us from our jobs, a phenomenon Kahn calls the Ostrich Effect<\/a> (the subject and title of his new book<\/a>). When facing an anxiety-triggering situation\u2014a series of layoffs, for example\u2014acknowledge it\u2019s a difficult time, talk through the implications, and encourage employees to express their concerns. \u201cIf you create space for people to talk in a way that they feel validated, it frees them up psychologically to engage in their work,\u201d Kahn says. \u201cHappiness is important. It\u2019s not rocket science, but we forget about it all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When was the last time you asked your employees about their passions? Their hopes and fears? In conversations about work, managers tend to emphasize job performance and overlook the most important aspect of employee engagement, says Professor of Organizational Behavior William Kahn. 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