A colleague of mine recently saw a bit of social research that reported people's perceptions of behaviors that deserve firing. One that stood out for me was that the respondents felt that managers who displayed emotions too strongly and displayed excessive histrionics (especially profanity) in the workplace should be fired. This gave me pause.
I am a passionate person in many ways. One of the things about which I am very passionate is my work. Another is my relationships. I hold strong feelings about both and upon reflection I must admit that there have been times in my past when I have earned the firing that these folks want for such managers. I have managed to generally avoid the profanity, but I have been loud and judgmental and have felt out of control at times. These were clearly moments when I was not being good to myself and the end results of such behavior are not often good. While it is incredibly difficult to change fundamental beliefs about things, it is possible and incumbent upon us all to manage our expressions of belief. I have learned to manage the passion by making sure that I focus in on the value-adding aspects of my work and the loving processes in my relationships.
In this age of much discussion about the critical role of emotional intelligence, this is an important change to make. I suggest that everyone take a hard look at their expressions of passion and put a sock in it when it is not value-adding for the work. I include in this passion about things like politics, religion, and personal issues that tend to swamp us emotionally. If you can't manage your passion at work by re-directing its energy, at least take some time off and deal with yourself appropriately. It will help everyone have a better work experience.
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This seems like it could be taken in so many ways, Dr. D. I see this as huge controversial deal that has so many gray areas that it's hard to decipher what to believe and what not to believe anymore.
Everyone wants work and jobs to be professional with no discrimination against religion and personal beliefs. Yet on the other hand, if any deviates from the professional and desirable look of a company outside company hours its deemed horrible, questionable and many face losing their jobs because of it.
Personally, I believe that the workplace should be very professional and that everyone should uphold and respect those policies. But what I don't understand is why a company can fire someone solely based on what they do outside of work.
I want everyone to practice their own religions without question from co-workers; I want everyone to know that they can be comfortable with with sexual orientation without confrontation or discrimination; and most of all, I want everyone to have the freedom to express themselves freely outside of their professional atmosphere without the possibility of getting fired.
Impossible? No.
I suggest we all inherit two identities. A professional identity and an at-home identity. Our birth certificates will have a place to put two names, and that will be the only place where those two names will be mentioned together... ever.
Or we could just all become a lot more tolerant and accepting of each other. We are all different and we should embrace and respect that. Accept when we are at work, that's when we are professional.
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