Have you ever given constructive criticism to a junior colleague, only to have her bawl her eyes out afterwards because she felt that you were personally attacking her? The whole interaction might have also left you feeling guilty for coming across as unkind and callous, but at the same time, there was no real tactful way to share your feedback with her.
And perhaps your relationship with that colleague changed after that interaction. She started avoiding you, or even developed a snarky attitude towards you, and you stopped giving her any more feedback about her work, for fear of upsetting her again. As a result, the quality of her work continued to deteriorate, your team’s performance suffered, and your boss has lashed out at you for not delivering results.
You soon learnt the hard way that being caught in the middle of temperamental superiors and sensitive juniors can take an emotional toll. So, you stopped expressing yourself whenever you were angry, annoyed, afraid or upset, and put on a stoic face when confronting colleagues or dealing with problems. After all, everyone knows that emotions don’t belong in the workplace. Some, like fear and sadness, are often perceived negatively by companies, and it’s a common belief that people can be penalised for expressing their feelings at work.
“Business culture
