Why workers need to have feelings

By Chris Carnegy
BBC World Service business reporter

Good communication means better sales

If you want to get ahead in business nowadays, you will need more than a head. Research shows you will need a heart as well.

That's the theory behind the growing focus on "emotional intelligence" as a key tool for workplace success.

Fans of the classic British 1970s television comedy Fawlty Towers know all about a manager who lived life on a short fuse.

It portrayed stressed-out hotel owner, Basil Fawlty, forever infuriated by the apparent stupidity of his staff and guests.

Understanding emotions

Mr Fawlty might have been well educated, but he never quite managed to understand or control his own emotions.

Personal development trainer Cheryl Buggy says that process is surprisingly important.

"Whilst we like to think we're thinking rational human beings, we're actually primarily motivated by our feelings, our emotions," she says.

"The success of any organisation will often be down to the relationships people are having within that organisation with each other, and then with clients."

So a growing number of employers are selecting and training staff by looking not just at skills and qualifications, but "emotional intelligence".

The phrase covers a basket of personality traits including self-control, trustworthiness, conscientiousness, adaptability and innovation - and it seems to have a real cash value.

Good for business

One company which has turned to emotional intelligence to test candidates is cosmetics giant L'Oreal.

It found that sales staff chosen on emotional intelligence sold goods worth almost $100,000 (£62,000) a year more than their colleagues, and far fewer quit their jobs early.

This is because people with emotional intelligence "are more likely to be proactive than reactive", says Ms Buggy.

For this reason, it could be worth companies learning not just how to spot emotional intelligence but how to foster it.

Lack of motivation "really does hold you back and therefore could hold an organisation back", she says.

Asian innovation

In Hong Kong, a series of workshops has been looking for ways to develop new skills in its workforce of the future.

Ms Buggy says the authorities there are "rather concerned" that academically well-qualified graduates might still lack vital skills for commercial success - such as innovation, flexibility, creativity, and the ability to anticipate and solve problems.

"I certainly got the feeling that there was concern that the education system in China and in Hong Kong wasn't producing those sorts of graduates," she says.

One Hong Kong parent who agrees with this diagnosis is Florence Leung, who works for tobacco company Philip Morris.

She is determined that her seven year-old daughter Joyce will emerge from school with more than academic qualifications.

"I think those people who can communicate well... who have good integrational skills and show respect for other people, those are people who can really accomplish more in the workplace," she says.

She is concerned that children "don't actually learn a lot of these skills from school".

So what is the solution for the workforce of the 21st century?

Add emotional intelligence skills to your qualifications, get in touch with your feelings and those of your colleagues, and get ahead.