Emotional
intelligence is key to
getting the most out of a diverse workforce, according to Mark Slaski, senior lecturer in
psychology at the University
of Hertfordshire.
Speaking
at the Public Sector People Management Expo in London,
he explained that diversity was not just about numbers and a mixed workforce,
but was more about involvement and culture.
He
believes that employees who have developed emotional intelligence and work in
the right environment will be more receptive to making diversity effective.
“The
true measure of diversity is inside your mentality”, he said. “If you start to get people to understand
themselves emotionally, they do behave differently around other people. There
comes with that a respect and tolerance. They accept their self image and
understand the emotional responses of others better. They don’t see other
people according to their race, gender or age, but see their emotions as the
drivers.”
Slaski believes emotional
intelligence can be acquired through training and development. He claimed that
the performance of retail managers and their ability to handle stress had
improved significantly as a result of an emotional intelligence programme.
He
described 21st century emotions as our values, beliefs, wants, needs, hopes,
fears, prejudices, desires and expectations.
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