Recently a PhD candidate in the University of Cambridge, Dr. Ally Louks, submitted her dissertation titled, “Olfactory Ethics: The Politics of Smell in Modern and Contemporary Prose” announcing it on social media. The internet erupted with disdain at academia funding such seemingly trivial studies that had supposedly nothing to do with real life experiences of the common person.
But Dr Louks’ dissertation precisely spoke out real life experiences and especially those of exclusion. Her argument noted how olfactory disgust can result in a person’s rejection. It revolved around the perpetuation of exclusion by class, race and other factors through literature.
Small, everyday things and behaviours in the workplace are also often ignored as mundane. But their power to completely make or break an employee’s workplace experience is often ignored. A critical matter in this regard is emotional inclusion and wellbeing. Emotional inclusion is a workplace ecosystem that accepts that any professional dynamic involves a wide range of emotions which can be channelled, regulated and even amplified to produce better outcomes.
A 2024 Gallup study reported that employee engagement in the U.S had hit a 11-year low. To put it in different terms, almost 4.8 million fewer employees were actively engaged and enthusiastic about their work. This pressing issue has much to do with the poor understanding and prioritisation of emotional inclusion in workplaces. And this has serious business implications. Companies in the top quartile of employee engagement see 23% higher profitability and 81% lower absenteeism than those in the bottom quartile.
This is because emotional inclusion is inextricably linked to psychological safety and trust. A team that does not fully embrace emotional inclusion will find it very difficult to maintain high psychological safety and interpersonal trust. Without these two components, team members will hesitate to present fresh perspectives, take accountability or be proactive with performance. Instead they will resort to masking their authentic selves and doing the bare minimum, only to disengage at the earliest opportunity. As a result, the team suffers and so does the company, with poor outputs, falling quality of work, expensive attrition and a discontented workforce.
Here are some ways that you can begin to infuse emotional inclusion at work:
- “Unbossing” your teams: This is advice especially for team leaders and managers. Many times it feels imperative to micromanage everything your team is doing and sticking to the rulebook. e. Instead, trust your team’s potential to get the job done, done well. This does not mean giving up complete control. Your team still depends on you for support, to streamline work into productive channels and to give them feedback on what works. Remember informed risks with your team are good and trust can only exist when it’s mutual.
- Relook your people strategy: Lets say a colleague is pregnant and is going through multiple biological changes. She needs to apply for maternity leave and make arrangements for things to run smoothly in her absence. But to do so she needs to step into multiple meetings with HR, ruffle through pages of different policies, send a bunch of the same emails to different individuals and wait for their approval. And this is to even get the process started. This glut of protocol and information can be simplified, processes smoothened out and resources built. So when the next pregnant colleague seeks out support, they are not met with hurdles to cross to get their hands on it.
- Encourage conversation: Talking about vulnerabilities, fears and aspirations are not just great team bonding exercises at a casual lunch outing. These things are important to gauge where each individual places themselves within the dynamic and what kind of help they would need to realise their ambitions in the company. It helps leaders also set expectations clearly, talk about past missteps and explain why certain goals are and processes are important.
Emotional inclusion and emotional intelligence is a combination of many factors which may feel difficult to decipher at first. At Serein, we specialise in helping you pinpoint the exact areas of your people strategy and culture that are posing an obstacle to emotional inclusion. Take a scientific approach to inclusion today by contacting us at hello@serein.in.