Self awareness in the workplace is crucial to success – here’s why

What is self awareness in the workplace? 

As a core component of emotional intelligence, self awareness in the workplace is all about getting a stronger grip on our feelings, emotions and mental health. 

All of these factors play a big part in how we think, feel and act at work on a daily basis.

Self-aware employees are those that: 

• understand what they want
• recognise their strengths and weaknesses 
• have control over the way they present themselves 

Every employee will have areas they excel in and areas in which they might need some support. The good news for employers is that self awareness is something that can be developed over time with training, which is exactly why so many organisations are making it a priority in their learning and staff career development plans. 

Why is self awareness important in the workplace?

Now we've answered the question what is self awareness in the workplace?, we can look to establish why it's just a vital soft skill to possess. High levels of emotional intelligence is an incredibly valuable characteristic to have at work, particularly if you are managing a team or interacting with other people on a regular basis.

Here are four advantages that self-aware employees tend to benefit from:

1. Coping better with pressure and stress

Pressure is a natural part of our lives; though it’s easy to see how continual pressure at work can lead to stress and anxiety and if people don’t have a good coping mechanism to manage it.

Simple behaviours like recognising the onset of stressful emotions and taking regular breaks to relieve pressure can help people respond positively to pressure and prevent burnout.

Highly self-aware individuals even have the potential to reframe situations in their mind and view them positively rather than negatively.

2. Managing time more efficiently 

Without a good level of self awareness in the workplace, employees find it difficult to manage their time and perform at their peak on a regular basis. It’s a big help if employees can think ahead and plan their schedule in a way that maximises their strengths and minimises their weaknesses.  

For instance, if a person knows that they work best first thing in the morning, they should feel comfortable organising their day accordingly in order to limit meetings and other distractions and instead focus on their priorities. 

3. Developing leaders  

For some employees, going through their day-to-day roles and responsibilities is enough to keep them happy in their current position. However, anyone that has ambitions to move into a more senior role will need to develop the ability to influence colleagues in a positive way, particularly those in a managerial role.  

This is another area where self awareness at work is so important. Self-aware people generally have a good sense of how their mood and behaviour affects other members of staff. The ability to empathise is also essential when giving and receiving feedback and criticism because this ensures that important messages are communicated in the right way.  

You can read more about this in our article 10 essential leadership soft skills.

4. Enabling progression and high performance 

Alan Mullaly, the CEO responsible for turning around the fortunes of Ford Motors in the mid-2000s, once said that self awareness is perhaps the biggest opportunity for growth and improvement – in business, at home, and in life. 

Research from the Korn Ferry Institute backs this up too. Its study of 486 companies over a 30-month period found that businesses with a higher rate of return also employed staff with higher levels of self awareness. In fact, poor-performing businesses were 79% more likely to have low overall self-awareness than businesses in the top percentile for performance. 

How to improve self awareness in the workplace?

Every employee in your organisation should be aware of their own strengths and weaknesses because this is fundamental to their long-term progression. Here are 4 tips on how to build self awareness in the workplace:

1. Coping better with pressure and stress

• Talk openly with staff about keeping pressure positive
• Ask employees to note when they start to feel stress so they can recognise the triggers

2. Managing time

• Encourage autonomy and self-organisation
• Ensure staff know they can and should schedule breaks

3. Developing leaders

• Look for practical ways that potential leaders can understand how their mood and behaviours affects others
• Build mood checks into team meetings, or through anonymised surveys

4. Provide development opportunities

• Encourage personal development around self awareness, such as through topical reading
• Look for guided learning and training opportunities