How To Navigate The Emotional Complexities Of Modern Work

In a high-pressure environment, how can employees develop their aptitude for managing their emotions – and how can employers support them? Despite appearing less tangible, some skills underpin our success in the digital workplace

- Rachel Ranosa

Resilience. Empathy. Emotional intelligence. Despite the prevalence of an ‘always-on’ culture, the frequency of our communications through email, chat or video conferencing still doesn't fully capture the quality of our interactions at work. How well we engage with one another entails mastery of what makes us human: our emotions.

While technical skills often produce more tangible results and are fundamental to a rewarding career, experts are also pointing to competencies that rely on 1) mental 2) emotional and 3) psychosocial processes and interactions.

And, despite appearing less tangible, they underpin success in the modern workplace. These skills are widely referred to as soft skills or people skills, but they create six times more impact than hard skills or technical knowledge when it comes to job success, according to the National Soft Skills Association in the US.

In fact, a study by I/O psychologist Dr Travis Bradberry on 42,000 workers found that 90 per cent of the top performers across industries exhibit high emotional intelligence – and they often transform this soft skill advantage into an economic benefit. High EQ workers tend to earn US$29,000 more than colleagues who have yet to develop emotional intelligence.

More people today are craving better soft skills to deal with life and work in uncertain times, particularly skills that develop mental fortitude and endurance.

Anxiety management courses on Udemy, for example, witnessed a 4,000 per cent increase in demand at the height of the pandemic last year. Among healthcare workers, that demand is even greater at 5,400 per cent. Courses on resilience, meanwhile, grew more popular among learners by 1,300 per cent.