Béatrice had planned to remain calm, but when this executive in the insurance sector, demotivated, found herself in video in front of her boss, anger rose in her face. “From the tone of my voice, I felt that she was coming out in a cold way. My boss listened to me until the end. Our interview ended better than it started.she testifies.
If Béatrice benefited from a listening boss, for a long time, expressing her emotions in business was taboo for fear of losing face or her place. Still today, “A lot of bosses are uncomfortable with emotions. They don’t allow themselves to experience them or share them for fear of their team’s gaze.comments Pascal Grémiaux, president and founder of Eurécia, a Toulouse-based SME specializing in human resources (HR).
Detect weak signals
Or, “the phenomenon of emotional repression has given rise to pathologies and disaffection for work”, says Philippe Lamblin, founder of Final Version, which trains managers and employees in positive and effective communication with others. According to Malakoff Humanis’ 2022 annual absenteeism barometer, psychosocial risks and burnout have indeed become the second cause of work stoppages following the health crisis.
Faced with this observation, HR solution providers such as Eurécia offer managers tools to measure the feelings of their employees: coaching sessions, elements to decipher bodily attitudes, tools to facilitate the sharing of feedback – positive, encouraging or aimed at improvement points.
“Our motivation is most often a reflection of our moods. Asking someone how their project is progressing is also asking them how they feel and accepting to hear their answer”, continues Pascal Grémiaux. With the development of teleworking, it also offers SME managers a small well-being module to detect weak signals. Employees can report their inner state anonymously using emoticons. This information is then taken into account when supporting the teams.
Accompanying worry, anger…
At Coface, a credit insurance company present in 70 countries, a survey is conducted every four months. “For many questions, it is possible to put a qualitative comment anonymously. In the last survey, we received 23,000 comments. I was able to select all comments from detractors and all those that were disturbing because they included the word ‘stress’ or ‘harassment’.explains Pierre Bévierre, director of human resources of the group, which thus identifies if there is an endemic problem in a team.
In his eyes, it is especially when there is a change such as a health crisis, a restructuring, a new boss… that it is necessary to accompany the concern, the anger or the anguish of the employees. This is why he has developed sessions for managers on the impact of bereavement – analogous to that of change – on emotions.
Can we express everything we feel in business? Aggressiveness is of course prohibited. It is not a question of giving free rein to all one’s emotions, but of recognizing them in oneself, of finding the means of channeling them and of orienting them with accuracy within the framework of the company. “To get a collective on board a project, you need meaning, but also emotional support from people.recalls Philippe Lamblin. So enthusiasm. »