The Power of Emotion

Vince Poscente (The next 16.572 seconds could change your life) was one of the keynote speakers at the 2005 National Association Medical Staff Services annual conference.

He is an engaging and energetic presenter. He made us laugh, a good thing at an otherwise rather serious conference.  But even after all these months, one of his main points is stubbornly lurking in the back of my mind.

Never underestimate the power of emotion.

It’s a simple enough precept. 

But I just can’t shake the thought that it’s one I haven’t quite come to terms with.

Our society constantly bombards us with facts, data, objects, and goals.  We struggle to absorb, obtain, and reach.  We seldom take time, in fact we often actively avoid, feeling. 

I’ve slowly become aware of an underlying and influential belief that I didn’t realize I had developed.  When it comes to our jobs, expressing emotion is bad.  Feelings are messy, much like an overly cluttered office. Since they can’t be tallied, alphabetized, or neatly filed away, they don’t belong in the workplace.  Emotion clouds judgment and complicates business relationships.  Expressing sentiment at or about work is awkward and unprofessional.

As a result, I’ve lost much of what Vince refers to as the “emotional buzz” about what I do.  I check facts, attend meetings, and file reports.  I pay attention to detail and complete assignments with a polite smile on my face.  Occasionally the bland smile fails and frustration, or even more disconcerting, delight, momentarily shows through.  I am instantly concerned that I’ve allowed my professionalism to be breached.   

I know I haven’t always felt the need for such detachment, so how did I become convinced that emotions are unprofessional?

Apparently, I’m not alone.  Michael Kramer and Jon Hess, professors of communication at the University of Missouri-Columbia, completed a study a few years ago which revealed that many employees do not want their co-workers to express any type of strong emotion, positive or negative.  According to their research, the only “appropriate” way to manage negative emotions at work was for employees to hide or “mask” their emotions, and even positive emotions were to be expressed in moderation. 

I recognize my own buy-in to that philosophy.  About a year ago a co-worker I admire told me, with absolute conviction and a sincere smile, that she loved her job, and loved working for our employer.  I felt happy for her, pleased that she had found such a good fit for her skills and talents.  But I also felt a bit taken aback that she was willing to express so much joy about her job.  She’s being unrealistic, I thought.  She can’t love it every day, and I’m not sure it’s wise to reveal so much pleasure in work.  Surely someone will take advantage of her openness. 

When did I become so cynical?!

Why can’t we love our jobs? And why can't we say so?  We love friends and family and they’re not perfect.  (I hope we tell those imperfect people that we love them.  If not, we need to stop being so chicken-livered and start speaking up!)

While it’s reasonable to expect mature people to strive for emotional balance and control, the bland ‘professional’ exterior that we’ve come to require from ourselves and our co-workers takes away our ability to feel and express joy about our work.   It matters.  We matter. Let’s stop being so afraid.

Never underestimate the power of emotion.

Comments

[Kim]

Great post!

Nurses are usually pretty good at expressing emotion. I have had jobs in the past where the manager did NOT want to hear anything negative and took any anger or frustration personally. Those jobs were not fun.

And I thank God every day I found my current job! Next month I will be there two years and I'm bringing a cake to celebrate! : )

[docmomma]

Hard to get a raise when you Love, Love, Love your job. They know you're not going anywhere... :-(