Kabhi Khushi, Kabhi Gham: How Sharing Emotions With Your Colleagues Can Boost Your Productivity

Gen Z (73%) and millennials (79%) are leading the way in expressing themselves and feeling more comfortable than ever to open up at work.

New Delhi: LinkedIn, the largest online professional network, has released a new research that uncovers sharing emotions at work makes them more productive and boosts feelings of belonging. The new report said that more than three in four (76 per cent) professional workers believe that they feel more comfortable with expressing their emotions at work post-pandemic. Showing more emotions at work could be the secret to better staff morale in this hybrid world of work, with almost 9 in 10 (87 per cent) agreeing that doing so makes them more productive.

This shift is also being reflected on LinkedIn, which has seen a 28 per cent rise in public conversations on the platform. Nearly two-thirds (63 per cent) admitted to having cried in front of their boss — a third (32 per cent) having done so on more than one occasion.

“The past two years have been tumultuous to say the least but have also made people realise that they can be more vulnerable and candid with each other at work,” said Ashutosh Gupta, India Country Manager, LinkedIn.

Stigma around sharing feelings at work

However, seven in 10 (70 per cent) professionals in India believe there is a stigma around sharing feelings at work. Due to this, over a quarter of professionals in India are still worried about wearing their hearts on their sleeves out of a fear of looking weak (27 per cent), unprofessional (25 per cent), and being judged (25 per cent).

Unfairly, women are bearing the brunt more, with almost four in five (79 per cent) professionals in India agreeing that women are often judged more in comparison to men when they share their emotions at work.

Gen Z and Millennials lead the way for opening up at work

Gen Z (73%) and millennials (79%) are leading the way in expressing themselves and feeling more comfortable than ever to open up at work. In comparison, just 20% of boomers (aged 58-60) share the same comfort with expressing themselves at work.

Gen Z (41%) and millennials (47%) have felt the benefits of flexible working too, as they agree it has encouraged them to open up more often in front of their colleagues. In fact, Gen Z (62%) and millennials (69%) are also seeing a stronger response from their online community, with around two-thirds saying they received more support when they opened up on LinkedIn.

Some want more humor at work

Over three-quarters of professionals in India agree that “cracking a joke” at work is good for office culture, but more than half (56 per cent) consider it to be ‘unprofessional’.

Despite these mixed feelings, nine in 10 professionals in India agree that humour is the most underused and undervalued emotion at work.

In fact, more than three in five professionals want to see the use of more humour in general at the workplace.

Overall, professionals in South India are cracking the most jokes in the country, followed by professionals in the other parts of the country, the report mentioned.

(With inputs from agencies)