TED Community » Jerome Hanson

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A comment on Conversation: Should we be on a personal and emotional level with our peers or co-workers?

Oct 16 2011: Sounds like a basic question, but this is actually extremely difficult to answer yes or no.
I'm guessing it's quite impossible to remain completely unemotional in regards to dealing with peers and coworkers. Humans are social beings and by our very nature instantly become personally/emotionally connected, even on the most minimal level, with everyone we come in contact with.
Should we build upon that bond in a professional environment? Depends on where the "building" leads and what kind of professional environment we're talking about. It's entirely possible that the work depends on mutual creativity and a willingness to share experiences openly. In that kind of situation, you'd expect to be able to build very strong personal bonds with coworkers than if you work as say.. an IRS agent. Not that even then fostering an emotional bond would be bad...just maybe a little less fruitful and more prone to scrutiny depending on the situation.