Coffee break #2: Is it OK to cry at work?

This is a series of emails written by me, inviting fellow colleagues in the Department of Civil Engineering, UTP for the weekly coffee break. Attendee - lecturers, technicians and postgraduate students.

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Dear colleagues,

Crying is a fundamental element of human. It is part of complex human emotions. We cry not necessarily because we are sad but in the time of happiness as well. Crying is normal. But at work???

Recent studies show that by showing your emotion (including crying) makes organizations operates more competitively. The study suggested that we should not avoid being emotional, rather be more rational on interpreting why those particular feelings were triggered and understands what happens on social, psychological and even biological level – to get to bottom of it – the prejudices and reactions. We should not resist our emotion simply because we are “designed” with emotions and our responses have not caught up with the environment. Consider this – without emotion, it is impossible to make decision (study by University of Southern California’s Brain and Creativity Institute).

Unfortunately, we are still clueless about how to display and react to anger, fear and anxiety which are fundamental emotions, so we handicap ourselves trying to check our human side at the office door. In summary, we became less human when we are in the office.

Can we see someone crying at the office from now on?

Day: Every Wednesday (starting 6^th April 2011)

Time: 10:10 -10:40am (official time but you can come/leave as you wish in between)

Venue: 13.02.09

What to do?: Bring your own cup of coffee/tea

p/s: From a survey of 700 Americans, 48% of men says it is consider OK to cry at work compare to 41% for the women – the trick is that the men consider “it is more true for women”.

Thanks.