How To Take the Personal Out of The Workplace

Bringing your emotional baggage into the work place is inappropriate for all the reasons you may imagine. Yet employees, managers and business owners do itall the time.

The question is, how do you handle it? How do you look at your manager and think, "No one is going to tell me what to do!" What if a client, peer or prospect gets you on a Bad Day?

How do you take the personal out of the workplace?

It requires discrimination and distinction. If you are having communication problems at work, look at how you view your manager, boss or employee. Does he orshe represent a parent, mate or partner? Are yourfrustrations about what is and is not working in yourlife manifested on the job?

Learn to leave it at the door. Decide that what you doin the workplace is your contribution - to yourself, yourpeers and the community. This is your opportunity tocommit to what you are best at doing and get paid for it.

Examine your values. Values are how you live your life, about what is important to you. Choose valuesthat help make you what you truly are. Your personalvalues and professional values can be the same.

Warning! Many businesses like to say they are like afamily. Be cautious if you are enticed by this. Employees, managers and business owners may manifestcharacteristics found in your personal family.

Why is this important?

What can happen is, you may take on the role that youdo in your own family. If you are passive at home and come to work as a manager, what does that look like?Confusing at best.

When a passive person has to function in a differentrole on the job, they may revert and act like the aggressive parent. Potential can best be realizedunder a thoughtful and caring leader. Attempt to facilitate, to make it easy for everyone to achieve their best.

As a manager or business owner, you have to know whatyour values are; what the values of your company are, as well as the values of the people you manage. The basic rules of respect and acceptance apply. The Golden Rule is: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you", not: "Do it to them before they do it to you".

People who bring emotional baggage into the workplacecan be temperamental, grasping and neglectful. Even more frustrating is that they act out all their pent-up, misplaced emotions on the job withoutconsideration for others. Employees and co-workers react to this, work efforts and results goby the wayside, and profit and productivity go down.

Leave your unexpressed feelings at the door. Take abreak if you become frustrated. Know that you are atwork to provide results.

Heal yourself first, determine your values,then youwill be a better employee, manager or business owner.

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Copyright 2011