Creating an Ethical Workplace: Emotional
Intelligence
One of the
signs of an unethical workplace is that it is abusive -
this was commonly reported in our survey and we have
observed this on many occasions ourselves. Jennings'
research on ethical collapse in organizations also
highlights a loss of human dignity. Having to sit there
while a supervisor yells, berates and insults you is
certainly a loss of human dignity.
Not only
is an abusive environment unethical, but also inefficient.
Anger distracts people from getting the job done. How easy
is it for you to concentrate on something else while you
are angry?
Treating your employees unjustly is not only bad ethically,
it is bad for business. A basic principle of this course is
that unethical behavior is
bad for business.
Daniel
Goleman, in the book
Emotional Intelligence, says
“... a universal trigger for anger is the sense of being
endangered. Endangerment can be signaled not just by an
outright physical threat but also, as is more often the
case, by a symbolic threat to self-esteem or dignity: being
treated unjustly or rudely, being insulted or demeaned,
being frustrated in pursuing an important goal."
Given what we know, how can we reduce the likelihood of an
abusive work environment?
I.
Recognize the difference between complaints and personal
criticism
In a
complaint, a co-workers states specifically what is
upsetting her, and criticizes her co-worker’s
action,
not the individual, saying how it made her feel: “When you
left early to meet your boyfriend at the casino it made me
feel like you thought you were better than me, that I
needed to stay here and be here for clients when you could
just take off whenever you wanted to.” It is an expression
of basic emotional intelligence: assertive, not belligerent
or passive”
Both inexperience and low self-esteem are related to
workers misinterpreting criticism as a personal attack.
Young workers especially seem to have difficulty in
distinguishing between criticism of work performance and a
personal attack. And, when attacked, most people respond
with anger. if they are the subordinate and cannot respond
directly, they may react in other negative ways, by calling
in sick, spending work hours surfing the Internet, or
taking out their frustration on co-workers or clients.
What to do:
On a personal level, try to view criticism as an
opportunity to improve your work performance or
organization. The truth is most people really do not mean
it personally, even when it might come out that way. They
are usually frustrated by a situation they find
unacceptable, for example, the phones aren't being answered
during business hours. Try to look at the issue, not the
person, not their attitude, and see if there is something
you can do.
Click here to give an example of
complaining without personal criticism
