Wharton School Examines Effects of Emotional Connection in the Workplace
Sigal Barsade, the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business’ Bernstein Professor of Management, specializes in the influence of emotional intelligence within organizations.
Professor Barsade’s recent study on the business outcomes of a ‘compassionate workplace’ was recently mentioned in Inc. magazine.
Citing a Gallup study, the main reason why employees leave companies is not the job, but the managers and other colleagues.
Barsade says,
“Our field tends to focus on shared cognitions of people at work, yet an understanding of shared emotions of people at work can also have important outcomes for organizations…We’re talking about shared emotions.”
Toxic workplaces are often the result of poor leadership, she observes. The example starts at the top, with managers exhibiting actual interest in their teams’ well-being. Along with co-author Olivia O’Neill of George Mason University, Barsade performed a longitudinal study of a long-term health care facility comprised of 185 employees. The staff was responsible for the care of over 100 patients, along with their family members.
Barsade and O’Neill developed a scale meant to measure affection, compassion, caring, and tenderness. As opposed to the employees rating themselves, they were asked to rate their colleagues. Other criteria of the workplace that the staff rated include ‘hominess’, i.e., how comfortable the environment was for them and for patients; and how the culture acknowledged birthdays or other meaningful events.
In this particular facility, employees observed an overall high degree of compassion in their peers. The culture supported both celebration of happy events and appropriate responses to difficult ones. Employee absenteeism at this facility was low.
“What we’re suggesting is that … even if you don’t start out feeling the culture of love — even if you’re just enacting it — it can lead to these positive outcomes.” Barsade noted.
About the Author
Maggie Boccella
Maggie Boccella, a lifelong resident of Philadelphia, is a freelance writer, artist and photographer. She has consulted on various film and multimedia projects, and she also serves as a juror for the city's annual LGBTQIA Film Festival.
