By Krysty Wideen

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase before… leave emotion at home. Don’t bring it to work. And I get it. I can see how emotions got a bad rap. It’s not helpful for productivity or morale when someone starts yelling because they are angry, or sobbing because of something happened at home. The most obvious course of action, get it out of here. Emotion doesn’t belong.

But here’s the thing. We are emotional beings. No matter how hard we try, emotions exist in everything we do. The question is, are we paying attention to them and behaving in a way that is informed and appropriate, or are we suppressing our emotions, trying to believe that can do it forever?

This is really the crux of the theory around self-awareness. It’s not really just about understanding that I am good at writing clear and concise emails, but weak at meeting deadlines; it’s about being aware of myself, in the moment, and behaving in a way that takes that takes into account my emotions, as well as my thoughts, and what I’m trying to accomplish. It’s about recognizing that our internal experience is not just about being rational – the same organ that is capable of rational thought is that one that houses our emotions, why separate them?

So, how do we temper the seemingly negative impact that emotions can have on our work? In my opinion, bring them to the forefront. Have the conversation about what’s going on: admit when you are angry, recognize your sadness, and acknowledge joy and accomplishment. Bring it in as much as possible. From my experience and from the literature, emotions impact our behaviour no matter what. The difference is if you are aware of this impact or not.