Downsizing can be difficult – Are your managers prepared with effective coping skills?
Has your company or a company you work for experienced downsizing? Possibly the contract or grant wasn’t renewed and that led to budget and program cuts. The uncertainty can present anxiety and create a strained culture of the organization.
The ways that managers deal with employee anxiety associated with job insecurity matters. That is, the way that managers respond to crises may help shift employee attitudes from potentially negative to more favorable.
“Managers who use emotional intelligence can ameliorate stress related to job insecurity and also help to reframe the situation so that it positively impacts employee performance.” Mark Mallinger, PhD
In Mark Mallinger’s article, he shares benefits and practical tools that EI provides specifically in an environment of job insecurity. Below is a partial recap of the common themes of emotional intelligence. To read the article in full visit https://gbr.pepperdine.edu/2010/08/use-emotional-intelligence-to-cope-in-tough-times/
- Emotional-Awareness: The ability not only to recognize one’s own feelings, but also to identify and understand the feelings of others.
- Self-Regulation: The ability to monitor and control one’s own feelings and emotions in order to avoid reacting inappropriately.
- Responsiveness to Situational Cues: The ability to engage in appropriate actions, given the emotional content of a situation.
- Influence: The ability to understand emotions and feelings, which allows one to shape and motivate others’ behavior. While self-awareness concerns the acknowledgment of emotions, influence refers to one’s ability to impact the behavior of others.
- Decision-making Astuteness: The ability to discern others’ emotions accurately, thus enabling one to make better personal decisions by anticipating ways in which others will react to those decisions.
Combine the above list along with Empathy, Impulse Control, Stress Management, and Optimism (which are more competencies of EI) to create a strong foundation of coping skils that managers need to handle difficult times effectively and protect the culture of the organization.
To learn more about emotional intelligence and how it can benefit you and your company give us a call for a consultation.
Don’t Get UNGLUED, Increase Your EQ!
Warmly,
Cynthia Gossman
EQ Coach/Trainer