We are going through a lot of change right now in my workplace. I’ve seen people process this change with a range of reactions: speculation, fear, excitement, confusion . . . Anytime there are changes in org charts, people leaving or new hires coming on, it sets off this domino effect of anxiety.
When we are in fear, and I think we all do this, we have a tendency to catastrophize. We jump to the worst. I mirror people’s emotions easily and I’ve found myself so often as we’ve dealt with stressful scenarios or high change management in the past jumping from one person’s catastrophe to another and getting emotionally whiplashed. In this state, I tend to react too quickly. I don’t think I give very good advice. I don’t think I give very good feedback. I don’t think I take enough time to understand the root causes and the big picture.
This is my reminder to myself to listen, to empathize, and to stay grounded in my own emotion and to form my own judgments. And while I’ve built my job around doing emotional labor, I’ll try not to take that labor home with me.
With Love,
Natalie