Information Sheet 4.

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MANAGING EMOTIONS
Learning Objective:
After reading this INFORMATION SHEET, YOU MUST be able to:
1. Managing Emotions

We are emotional creatures. It is hard for us, as humans, not to be emotional.

Whilst it is generally good to be in touch with our emotions and to not
suppress them, there are situations where we must somehow manage our
emotions especially well. That’s notably the case at work.

Emotional outbursts at work could be due directly to work-related matters or

to stressors from our personal life spilling into our work life. Handling our
emotions (particularly negative ones) at work is often seen as a measure of our
professionalism.

According to a study done, the most common negative emotions experienced at

work are frustration, worry, anger, dislike and unhappiness.

Do any of these emotions seem familiar to you? You may experience other, less
common negative emotions that will also leave you feeling stressed. From a
certain standpoint, it is never good to repress or suppress emotions, positive or
negative. However, our emotions must be managed to allow us to function in
various situations. What are some of the strategies you can use to cope with
negative emotions?

10 Strategies to manage negative emotions at work

1. Compartmentalisation (when negative emotions from home affect your

work)

 Try and leave personal matters and issues at home. When you
commute to work, use that time to tell your mind to let go.
  For example, if you are taking the MRT/bus/driving, at each
station/bus stop/traffic stop, mentally ask the offending person to
get off or ‘push’ the stressor out.

 Some find it helpful to mentally ‘store/lock up” the issue in a box

for the time being.

 You can also compartmentalise work-related stressors so that

your emotions at work don’t spill over into your personal life too.
2. Deep breathing & relaxation techniques

 This will help with emotions like anxiety, worry, frustration and
anger.

 Take deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling slowly until you calm
down. Slowly count to 10.

 You can take a walk to cool down, and listen to some relaxing
music.

 Talk to someone who can help you calm down.

3. The 10-second rule

 This is especially helpful if you are feeling angry, frustrated or

even irate.

 If you feel your temper rising, try and count to 10 to recompose

yourself.

 If possible, excuse yourself from the situation to get some distance

but do reassure the other party that you will come back to deal
with the matter.
4. Clarify

It is good to clarify before reacting, in the event that it could be a simple

misunderstanding or miscommunication.

5. Blast your anger through exercise

  Instead of losing your cool, plan on hitting the treadmill or going
to a kick-boxing class to let the anger out of your system.

 Exercise is also a good way to get a solid dose of mood-enhancing

endorphins.

 In addition, exercise will help to release any physical tension in

your body.
6. Never reply or make a decision when angry

 In this day of instant communication, it’s easy to just shoot off an

email or text that you may regret later.

 Never let your anger or unhappiness cloud your judgement.

 Hold off all communication while you are still angry. You can type
it first but save it as a draft and sleep on it for a day. Re-read it
the next day or even let someone you trust take a look at it before
you send it.
7. Know your triggers

 It helps when you are able to recognise what upsets or angers

you.

 This way, you can prepare yourself to remain calm and plan your
reaction should the situation occur.

 You may even be able to anticipate the other party’s reaction.

8. Be respectful

 Treat your colleagues the same way you would like to be treated
yourself.

 If the person is rude, there’s no need to reciprocate. We can stay

gracious and just be firm and assertive without being aggressive.
Often, rude people will mellow down if they don’t get a reaction
from you and realise that they are the only one shouting in the
room.
9. Apologise for any emotional outburst

 Sometimes our emotions do get the better of us.

 If you do have an emotional outburst, apologise immediately to

the person and perhaps to those around you who have heard it.

 You need not explain yourself or be defensive. Just a simple “I am

sorry. I reacted badly” would make a big difference.
10. Never bring your negative emotions home

 It is good practice to let go of any anger, frustration and

unhappiness at the end of every workday.

 Harbouring negative emotions allows them to fester like mould,

bringing you to a breaking point. So it’s best to empty the
emotional “trash can” on a daily basis, to prevent overwhelm.

 You can use the compartmentalisation method mentioned above,

or you can plan to engage in enjoyable activities after work with
your friends and family.
Source: https://www.healthxchange.sg/men/health-work/managing-
emotions-work

I
 Information Sheet 4.2-1
REFLECTIVE PRACTICE

Learning Objective:
After reading this INFORMATION SHEET, YOU MUST be able to:
1. Describe Reflective Practice

What is Reflective Practice?

Reflective practice is, in its simplest form, thinking about or reflecting on what
you do. It is closely linked to the concept of learning from experience, in that
you think about what you did, and what happened, and decide from that what
you would do differently next time.

Thinking about what has happened is part of being human. However, the
difference between casual ‘thinking’ and ‘reflective practice’ is that
reflective practice requires a conscious effort to think about events, and
develop insights into them. Once you get into the habit of using reflective
practice, you will probably find it useful both at work and at home.

Reflective Practice as a Skill

Various academics have touched on reflective practice and experiential

learning to a greater or lesser extent over the years, including Chris
Argyris (the person who coined the term ‘double-loop learning’ to explain
the idea that reflection allows you to step outside the ‘single loop’ of
‘Experience, Reflect, Conceptualise, Apply’ into a second loop to
recognise a new paradigm and re-frame your ideas in order to change what
you do).

They all seem to agree that reflective practice is a skill which can be
learned and honed, which is good news for most of us.

Reflective practice is an active, dynamic action-based and ethical set of skills,

placed in real time and dealing with real, complex and difficult situations.

Academics also tend to agree that reflective practice bridges the gap
between the ‘high ground’ of theory and the ‘swampy lowlands’ of
practice.  In other words, it helps us to explore theories and to apply them to
our experiences in a more structured way. These can either be formal theories
from academic research, or your own personal ideas. It also encourages us to
explore our own beliefs and assumptions and to find solutions to problems.

Developing and Using Reflective Practice

What can be done to help develop the critical, constructive and creative
thinking that is necessary for reflective practice?

Neil Thompson, in his book People Skills, suggests that there are six steps:

1. Read - around the topics you are learning about or want to learn about
and develop
2. Ask - others about the way they do things and why
3. Watch - what is going on around you
4. Feel - pay attention to your emotions, what prompts them, and how you
deal with negative ones
5. Talk - share your views and experiences with others in your organisation
6. Think - learn to value time spent thinking about your work

In other words, it’s not just the thinking that’s important. You also have to
develop an understanding of the theory and others’ practice too, and explore
ideas with others.

Reflective practice can be a shared activity: it doesn’t have to be done

alone. Indeed, some social psychologists have suggested that learning only
occurs when thought is put into language, either written or spoken. This may
explain why we are motivated to announce a particular insight out loud, even
when by ourselves! However, it also has implications for reflective practice, and
means that thoughts not clearly articulated may not endure.

It can be difficult to find opportunities for shared reflective practice in a

busy workplace. Of course there are some obvious ones, such as appraisal
interviews, or reviews of particular events, but they don’t happen every day. So
you need to find other ways of putting insights into words.

Although it can feel a bit contrived, it can be helpful, especially at first, to keep
a journal of learning experiences. This is not about documenting formal
courses, but about taking everyday activities and events, and writing down
what happened, then reflecting on them to consider what you have learned
from them, and what you could or should have done differently. It’s not just
about changing: a learning journal and reflective practice can also highlight
when you’ve done something well.
Source: https://www.skillsyouneed.com/ps/reflective-practice.html
Information Sheet 4.3-1
SELF-CONFIDENCE AND SELF-REGULATION

Learning Objectives:
After reading this INFORMATION SHEET, YOU MUST be able to:
1. Describe Self-confidence and Self-regulation

Developing self-confidence is a learning process. Constant studying, improving

your skills endlessly, building your knowledge on a daily basis are the main
characteristics of developing self-confidence.

Essential tools to build your self-esteem and self -onfidence

Self-confidence is a feeling which is based on your faith and your experience.

Even successful people can feel insecure inside. But what separates them from
many people is their approach toward their experiences, their mental attitude
what knows exactly what to do and they see their “problems” as a new
wonderful gift which is begging for the solution. And they are willing to invest
the necessary energy and time to find the best possible way to take care of the
situation quickly.

You can not escape from your “problems”. Nobody can. (But you can escape
from using the word “problem”. Use challenge, situation or opportunity instead.
The only reason I use the word “problem” to give you a better understanding)
You can not expect a life with zero “problems”, because if life did not have any
“problems” we would not call it life. Certain situations or challenges what we
call “problems” are inevitable. You have to find a better, quicker or more
profitable solution and that’s what moves humanity forward. You have to
create a solution. And there is always a solution.

Life is a series of situations and solutions. How many times throughout your
life did you think that the “problem” you had was almost impossible to solve or
it was a much bigger challenge than you expected? Yet, you took care of it. And
years later you don’t even know why it took you so long to get over with it. Are
you familiar with the feeling? Sometimes you don’t see why you thought it was
a “problem” at all.

How you behave in the midst of your downturn will determine your self-esteem
and self confidence. You have to respect yourself for who you are and utilizing
the tools available for you to move on. If you respect yourself you will respect
others and if you would not come up with the best idea to find the solution
others might do. Don’t be afraid to ask for help or advice. Sometimes we get to
the point in our life when the obstacles seem overwhelming. Ask your spouse,
partner, friend or parents what they think you should do under certain
circumstances. Create a solution; it will boost your self confidence and self-
esteem.

Source: Selfestee2go.com

Self-regulation can be defined in various ways. In the most basic sense, it

involves controlling one's behavior, emotions, and thoughts in the pursuit of
long-term goals. More specifically, emotional self-regulation refers to the ability
to manage disruptive emotions and impulses.

In other words, to think before acting. It also reflects the ability to cheer
yourself up after disappointments and to act in a way consistent with your
deepest held values.

Development of Self-Regulation

Your ability to self-regulate as an adult has roots in your development during

childhood. Learning how to self-regulate is an important skill that children
learn both for emotional maturity and later social connections.

In an ideal situation, a toddler who throws tantrums grows into a child who
learns how to tolerate uncomfortable feelings without throwing a fit and later
into an adult who is able to control impulses to act based on uncomfortable
feelings.

In essence, maturity reflects the ability to face emotional, social, and cognitive
threats in the environment with patience and thoughtfulness. If this
description reminds you of mindfulness, that's no accident—mindfulness does
indeed relate to the ability to self-regulate.
Why Self-Regulation is Important

Self-regulation involves taking a pause between a feeling and an action—taking

the time to think things through, make a plan, wait patiently. Children often
struggle with these behaviors, and adults may as well.

It's easy to see how a lack of self-regulation will cause problems in life. A child
who yells or hits other children out of frustration will not be popular among
peers and may face reprimands at school.

An adult with poor self-regulation skills may lack self-confidence and self-
esteem and have trouble handling stress and frustration. Often, this might be
expressed in terms of anger or anxiety, and in more severe cases, may be
diagnosed as a mental disorder.
Self-regulation is also important in that it allows you to act in accordance with
your deeply held values or social conscience and to express yourself
appropriately. If you value academic achievement, it will allow you to study
instead of slack off before a test. If you value helping others, it will allow you to
help a coworker with a project, even if you are on a tight deadline yourself.

In its most basic form, self-regulation allows us to bounce back from failure
and stay calm under pressure. These two abilities will carry you through
life, more than other skills.

Source: https://www.verywellmind.com/how-you-can-practice-self-regulation-
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