Positive Emotions in the Workplace Drive Employee Engagement

Emotions in the workplace can have a positive or negative impact on employee engagement, according to a study by the Dale Carnegie Research Institute. 

“When it comes to their performance, the emotions employees are feeling can be as important as the skills and knowledge they bring to their roles,” say the study’s authors.

Positive workplace emotions have been found to promote creativity, increase attention and intuition, improve problem-solving and foster cooperation.

Feeling valued, confident, connected and empowered were the emotions most strongly associated with engagement, the study showed. Employees who reported negative feelings toward their supervisor or workplace were five times more likely to be disengaged than employees who had positive feelings.

Leaders can promote positive emotions and employee engagement by thinking about how their own emotions affect others, anticipating the emotional impact of organizational change and finding ways to make people feel valued, confident, connected and empowered. Dale Carnegie’s interpersonal skills training can help leaders accomplish these goals.

Read the entire study here.