Emotional approaches to the study of organizational communication seem to be of high value to scholarship concerned with communication dynamics within organizations. One specific connection, in approach and study, is the view of systems theorists and their unique approach to studying the presence of emotion within organizations. Miller (2020) offers clarity of purpose and understanding of approach when investigating emotion within the organization, highlighting that evidence of emotion can be seen as sense making opportunities when studied through communication interactions within the organization. Finally, Miller posits that sense making opportunities could be transformational when considering how solutions to stress and burnout could be revealed within “networks of information sharing and social support (Miller & Barbour, 2020, p. 212).”
Within organizational communication studies, concerning emotional processes and diverse ecosystems of communication, one interesting angle of study could be the intersection of gender, with emotional intelligence. Understanding how women uniquely mediate the inherent nature of their gender, through communication, could reveal many opportunities for inclusive motivated organizations. This phenomenon is studied through evidence and “understanding of emotional rules” in the organization, which is investigated through their “display in the workplace” (Miller & Barbour, 2020, p. 202).
Emotional intelligence concerns one’s “ability to understand and manage our emotions in healthier, more inclusive and more empathetic ways.” It concerns the investigation of self-management, self-awareness, social awareness, and relational management (Lamb, 2024).
This perspective of study could afford great opportunities to investigators when attempting to “better address challenges, collaboratively solve problems, and manage conflict.” There is no better outcome to represent improvements across each divide. Each would serve to encourage greater productivity albeit in a healthier environment and move the organization to “work more cohesively and creatively” and most importantly “achieve the organization’s mission in authentic and meaningful ways” (Lamb, 2024).
Women as Disciplined Bodies – Intersected with EQ Research
Earlier, this student wrote about women as disciplined bodies within the organization. This seems shameful if opinion is permitted, especially considering that we have been taught across courses to see women as uniquely as their biology. Through the discipline of their inherent femininity, women are forced to conceal their gender’s uniqueness, even though femineity tends to spill out (Donahue, 2024). Miller notes that femineity attempts to rebel against its master’s discipline by “leak[ing] out through unruly clothing, menstrual bleeding, pregnancy, or emotional displays” (Miller & Barbour, 2020, p. 116). Among the variety of marginalizing efforts women must undertake to subdue the uniqueness of their gender, it seems the organization would be wise to measure the way emotional rules within it understand the nature of women’s true feminine nature.
This approach could reduce conflict, create the cohesion that our lecturer advances, and promote diversity and inclusion. Together, these efforts could be measured by understanding how employees interpret emotional rules. As applied to our study organization, an understanding of organizational emotional intelligence connected to the advancement and retention of specifically female employees would serve to offer an intersection in breaking down barriers that prevent equal consideration and offer instead, a transformative opportunity for the organization to advance their goals and objectives.
Conclusion
Scholarly investigation of either construct would consider how women are seen through communication and informational sharing within the organization, alongside evidence of social support for women. Through this scholarly approach, one would discover an abundance of opportunities to lateralize and reduce the marginalization effect of the female gender and endeavor to make “healthier, more inclusive choices in communication processes” (Lamb, 2024).
