Exploring Emotions in HR: How Do Emotional Bonds Impact Decision-Making?

Dear All,

Can I have your opinion on the following:

1. Does emotion or emotional bonding play a role in the HR profession? If yes, how much?
2. If an HR professional forms emotional bonds with all employees or some of them, does it affect their work, including decision-making?
3. Is it a prerequisite to be unemotional to enter the HR profession?

Thank you.

Certainly! Here is the revised text with spelling, grammar, and formatting corrections:

Well, we are all human beings, and as we spend a lot of time in our workplace, it's natural to form a sort of bonding. There is nothing wrong with that unless it hampers our work. It should not make us overlook policies or compel us to do things that go against the organization's well-being.

Prabha

This is a complex question. On the one hand, we need to implement policy and practice fairness in all we do. Usually, we associate fairness with being objective. However, we are emotional beings, and sometimes, to be really fair, we need to think more about the spirit and intention of policy than about the "letter of the law".

I think good HR is about wanting the best outcome for the organization but realizing that the staff in any organization are individuals with different needs, wants, skills, and knowledge. This means that to achieve the broad outcome (i.e., the good of the company), we sometimes have to respond to individuals quite differently.

In the end, the ability to make these judgments well is the difference between knowledge and wisdom.

Career Diagnostics

http://www.careerdiagnostics.com

Hi Peerji,

Being unemotional is definitely not a prerequisite for the HR profession. You get emotionally attached to the employees with no prior plan. It's the kind of empathy and concern you have towards your employees as you interact with them regularly. How assertive and diplomatic you are in projecting your thoughts (policies/rules) is all that matters. Employees find a transparent environment when HR shows concern and counsels them when they really require it.

HR is a bridge between the employees and management. If he is unemotional or unattached, a gap develops, leading to dissatisfaction among the employees. This is only my perception from my office environment; things may be different in the corporate world.

Sari

Hi Peer Saab,

The discussion topic is really interesting!

In my opinion, HR has to be empathetic in terms of thinking/analyzing and diplomatic in terms of action. If HR cannot control his/her emotions, work done or decisions made cannot be effective and efficient. In other words, the decision will be one-sided, leading to a wrong image for HR professionals.

It is crucial to understand that HR functions as one of the most important parts of the organization. I believe it bridges the gap between management and the workforce. Emotions must be kept under control to maintain the dignity and importance of the profession.

Regards,
Rachna Sinha

Dear sir,

It is definitely not a prerequisite to be unemotional. It never affects the working or decision-making if an HR professional is emotional for some employees or a group of employees. Be emotional but maintain a balance in your emotional attitude and be professional with your emotions too. You can also formulate new ways and work better by creating HR policies based on your own human values, even as you explained in your theory of "The Boss."

Regards, Kiran Arora 😊

I shall be answering the questions one by one:

1. No one is unemotional; it is just the way one displays it that is different from person to person. For HR professionals, being emotional is the first prerequisite to being a good professional. Also, being emotional does not necessarily mean that the person breaks down every time or laughs like mad. Being emotional is about understanding the feelings of people and showing empathy.

2. Emotional bonding in organizations is nowadays more prominent than before. This is because people are working in teams, and liaison and synergy are required to perform well. However, when making decisions about a person whom the HR professional knows, they must take it dispassionately and look at the decision from a third-party view before implementing it.

3. Yes, emotions and emotional bonding play a significant role in the HR profession as the HR professional is the person in the organization who concentrates on people management aspects. Networking requires an emotional bond to be built, liaisoning requires emotional bonding to be built, and good industrial relations require emotional bonding. Additionally, the HR professional is expected to be the most emotionally intelligent person in the organization.

Avinash

Udai Pareek HR Labs

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