I’m not a cryer, but that doesn’t mean I’ve never found myself crying at work–or wanting to very, very, very, badly. Harsh judgements, bullies, layoffs, no sleep, big risks gone sideways, bad personal news crashing into our workdays…there are many good reasons that tears are an appropriate response to the lives we lead in the workplace. And despite the fact that everyone experiences this, our workplace cultures are pretty terrible at guiding us about how to handle tearful emotions constructively.

CONTINUE READING

The reason we don’t want to cry at work is because we’re afraid of being judged by others. But let’s be honest, we also judge people who cry at work, or display emotional expressions that make us uncomfortable. Viewing employes who cry as “weak” is a common workplace bias most of us have, and if you’re working to improve your emotional intelligence, it’s a good opportunity to practice becoming more emotionally intelligent in how to evaluate others who authentically express their feelings in professional environments. To develop your EQ, learn to see past the emotional expression to the substance and quality of the person beneath it.

Yet, even when we try to look deeper our brains will go on judging them, because that’s what our brains do. Good news is that you can retrain your brain to reserve judgment and give you space to look more deeply into the person and the situation. From this deeper look, you’ll make better, less biased decisions. Learn more to get started with this emotional intelligence development trick with this short, InPower video:
 

Follow me on my YouTube channel and LinkedIn, for the latest InPower video clips and tips, (2-3 minutes tops) taken from these newsletters, blog posts, client advice and whatever I’m thinking of. 

Check out our past updates to catch up on InPower articles!

If you got this far, thank you for reading. I have long wanted to write about about workplace crying because I think it’s so important for all of us. Learning how to understand emotions, and emotional expression, as information sources is a topic near and dear to my heart. It’s a key INpowerment strategy that helps us elevate ourselves and our workplaces.

I hope you'll share your experiences on the journey to emotional intelligence with me as you go. Reach out any time!