Check out this excerpt from Trevor’s article, published on HR.BLR.com.

Emotional connection in the workplace is important for productivity. When companies create an environment where workers feel safe to risk talking about new ideas, and safe to try new things, they will be more adaptive and ultimately more successful.

John Bowlby, the English aristocratic psychologist theorized that our emotional bonds are as crucial to our existence as food and water. Attachment or emotional bonding is based on feeling safe and secure in your relationships and in your environment. While Bowlby addressed the family and bonding, we can address the workplace with the same “attachment lens”.

How does an attachment look at work? If workers feel safe, secure, valued, seen, heard and belonging, they will be more productive members of the team. A recent Harvard Business School study shows that more than raises or promotions, employees want to feel that their input is valuable to the enterprise.

How do companies show that they value employee input? One place to start is by simply acknowledging workers in the workplace. When asked, employees responded that most of all they wanted their presence to be noticed and appreciated.

Each of us develops an attachment style based on how we were cared for in our earliest years. Mary Ainsworth identified several attachment styles: secure, anxious, avoidant and chaotic. Initially attachment was considered only in relation to children, however we are coming to understand that attachment, or emotional bonding, is just as crucial to adults and adult relationships. When viewing the workplace through the “attachment lens”, we see that the attachment style of management can have an effect on the workplace.

To read the full article, click here.