You have to keep emotions and work separate

Hello everyone,

“You have to keep emotions and work separate.”
I believe that’s a cliché—and frankly, unrealistic. How would that even work? Are we supposed to leave our emotions at home? And if so, how? Maybe that’s why some people end up acting like robots at work.

As far as I’m concerned, we bring our emotions with us. If you’re not allowed to feel anything, it’s only a matter of time before you become disengaged or even miserable in your job. Showing emotions to your colleagues is a sign that you care. The things that happen at work affect you, and your colleagues should know when a topic or behavior impacts you.

For me, achieving a healthy work-life balance isn’t necessarily about working less or having more time off. It’s more about not carrying the emotional weight of work into my personal life. Think about that for a moment—if you constantly need extended time off just to feel ready to go back to work, that could be a sign that work-related stress is building up.

The reverse is also true—what happens in your personal life inevitably affects how you show up at work. You don’t have to share everything, but letting the people you work closely with know what’s going on can create space and understanding. You might be a bit less sharp temporarily, but that doesn’t make you a bad employee. It makes you human.

If this resonates with you or you’d like to talk more about it, feel free to reach out.