The corporate culture is undergoing a paradigm shift. In fact, a lot about how businesses function has changed already. If you have been in the corporate scenarios for a while, you would have been a witness to most changes. Today, skills and practical expertise have become the cornerstone for enterprises. Given that, there is a realigned focus on the skill development of the employees. There is now more purchase for affluent professional traits than ever before. Based on this idea, most businesses have now also refined their hiring practices. And among these skills, EQ or emotional intelligence is becoming predominant. Greater emotional intelligence in the workplace is an idea that businesses are keen on fostering.
What is EQ and how relevant is it in the workplace?
According to LinkedIn, more than 90 percent of top performers exhibit high levels of EQ. But what exactly is EQ? Well, the definition of EQ can be subjective, and it may be challenging for all of us to agree to a common definition. That is what is so graceful about EQ, the subjectivity around it. In simple terms, emotional intelligence is your ability to decipher your emotions and emotions of people around you effectively.
It is characterized by virtues that include empathy, intrinsic motivation, self-awareness, and proficiency in social skills. It is also based on the idea of self-regulation. Speaking of its relevance, Vantage Circle cites that EQ accounts for almost 60 percent of job performances. Having a workforce affluent in emotional intelligence is known to be a profitable advantage. This could well be the reason why leading businesses pay attention to EQ. As per key statistics on EQ, more than 75 percent of Fortune 500 companies invest in EQ training of their employees. What are the benefits of inculcating emotional intelligence in the workplace? Why do companies view it as a profitable idea to be prioritized? Let us find out the astonishing benefits of it.
Attractive benefits of curating a culture of EQ in the workplace
- Enhanced self-awareness
Emotional intelligence promotes a greater sense of self-awareness in employees. Self-awareness is an important determinant for performance and productivity. When employees are driven by self-awareness, they understand their productivity patterns well. Besides, they also have a clear understanding of their strengths and opportunities. Further, being self-aware includes the identification of stressors and vulnerabilities in time management. So, because of greater awareness, employees can manage their stress and time in a more productive way. They will also be aware of how their emotions can impact their work efficiency. Because of EQ, they will be able to minimize the intervention of emotions in their decision-making. The greater the awareness among employees, the better will be their contribution to the company.
- Progressive workplace environment
Empathy and motivation are identified as intrinsic values of emotional intelligence. When employees have empathy for each other and social skills, it leads to a positive work environment. Such a progressive workplace environment can be critical to the success of a business. As a business leader, by promoting EQ, you can upscale the engagement of your employees. Moreover, good company culture will enhance retention and bring down absenteeism. When employees feel that their colleagues and leaders understand their emotions well, they will commit greater loyalty. It will further promote a greater sense of collaboration and support in employees. It is interesting to note that collaboration can augment profitability. Gallup states that teams with positive connections can lead to a 21 percent increase in profitability. Having said that, EQ is a worthwhile strategy for high employee engagement and revenues.
- Identification and creation of leaders
In contemporary times, emotional intelligence is an essential leadership trait. Individuals with EQ and hence greater self-awareness and self-regulation will become leaders of tomorrow. With empathy and motivation, they can keep everyone on the same page in a worthwhile manner. Besides, people skills are also attributes of high emotional intelligence. With effective social skills, one can drive others to align goals for common objectives. These skills include cooperation, sharing, mutual respect, and so on. Since every organization invests in identifying leaders, fostering EQ can be an inexpensive way. People who score high on EQ will score high on impressive leadership skills as well. If you want more growth look into leadership development with Maximus International. Given that, investing in EQ can be rewarding in terms of identifying leaders and creating leaders. These charismatic leaders can do wonders for the success of your business!
- Positive employee relationships
No organization has been successful without investing in employee relationships. How employees treat each other and how they show faith in each other is critical. It is important that employees understand each other well and motivate each other. This happens in the best way when employees value emotions and exhibit empathy towards each other. This is what the innate purpose of emotional intelligence is! It makes people more empathetic and inspiring. Positive employee relations depend on mutual trust, emotional understanding, and being there for each other. With better EQ, employees will be able to build cordial relationships with each other. They will be more sensitive to each other’s stress and emotional issues. This becomes all the more important in the ongoing times of an unprecedented pandemic. Right now people are apprehensive and anxious. Employees also need support to deal with the flipsides of remote working. If employees can absorb each others’ apprehensions, positive employee relations will be fostered. As for your success, teams with ultra-positive relations are blissful. They can overcome even the most insurmountable challenges.
- More flexibility in the workplace
With emotional intelligence, employees show greater acceptance to change. EQ enhances their ability to be flexible and to make adjustments in a convenient way. Needless to say, companies witness changes of various kinds on a recurring basis. So, if employees are not able to adjust and align, it can hamper the overall success of the organization. But when your employees show higher EQ, they will make easy adjustments, and change management will be smooth. Also, EQ can facilitate problem-solving techniques in the workplace. This is one of the many reasons why employers today prefer EQ to IQ. Human Performance Technology concludes that employers would not hire people with high IQ but lower than expected EQ. They realize that employees with high EQ bring more flexibility to the workplace.
- Empowered self-control
Self-control is another characteristic trait of emotional intelligence. Self-control is a salient professional as well as a life skill. A lot of people tend to lose control of their emotions in typical situations. But individuals with high EQ do not feel deterred from challenges. They have amazing self-control and they hence believe in dealing with situations than evading them. They are in complete control of their emotions, intuitions, and sentiments. Further, they do not let these elements intervene with their prudence of decision-making. They maintain their poise even amidst the most challenging situations and do what is in the best interest of the company. To put it in simple terms, employees with high EQ are critical thinkers. Their ability to handle everything with a calm mind and with rationale will be crucial to organizational performance. A workforce with great collective self-control is an ideal army for any employer. So, let EQ be an everyday idea in the workplace!
- Competitive advantage
When EQ becomes a core value of a company, it acts as a fine competitive advantage. You get an edge over other businesses when you are successful in fostering a culture of EQ in the workplace. This edge is multidimensional and it includes higher productivity, higher profitability, and clarity of purpose among employees. Besides, from the purview of empathy, your workers can deliver affluent customer experiences. It is a well-known fact that customer service has surpassed product and pricing. Customers will be happy to pay even higher prices as long as customer experiences are positive. Hence, customer satisfaction in itself is one of the most significant advantages. Training your employees for EQ can have a direct positive effect on customer retention. That is what the ultimate objective of every business is, wouldn’t you agree?
To sum up, EQ has great relevance and astounding benefits in the workplace. It creates a more competent and motivated workforce. Besides, for the service industry, EQ can help employees to raise the bar of customer experiences. A lot of businesses around the world are now realizing the prowess of EQ. As mentioned above, most Fortune 500 companies are investing in EQ training for their employees. Also, companies are now refining their hiring process to recruit people with higher EQ. It will hence not be incorrect to say that emotional intelligence is the way forward. The sooner you integrate it with your business the more rewarding it will prove to be.
