From Burnout to Belonging: The Role of Emotional Intelligence at Work
Emotional intelligence is more critical than ever and yet we’re experiencing an emotional recession. Rising stress, burnout, polarization, and constant change have eroded empathy, self-awareness, and connection at work, even as the need for these skills continues to grow. For talent professionals, this gap is shaping employee experience, performance, wellbeing, and leadership effectiveness.
In this session, we’ll explore why emotional intelligence is now a defining capability for individuals, teams, and organizations. Drawing on fresh research and real-world insights, we’ll examine the consequences of declining emotional intelligence and the powerful benefits of rebuilding it. We’ll discuss eight core elements of emotional intelligence as well as practical ways to strengthen them, both personally and across the workforce.
Designed for talent, HR, and people leaders, this session will equip you with clear frameworks and actionable strategies to help you and the employees you support build emotional intelligence as a critical advantage for wellbeing, engagement, and performance.
Learning objectives:
- Understand the drivers and consequences of today’s emotional recession, including its impact on burnout, connection, performance, and employee experience.
- Identify the eight core elements of emotional intelligence
- Explore practical strategies to build emotional intelligence at work
About Dr. Tracy Brower, PhD Sociologist, Author, and VP of Workplace Insights at Steelcase:
Dr. Tracy Brower is a PhD sociologist studying community, happiness and the future of work and life. She is a Global 50 Thinker and the award-winning author of three books: Critical Connections, The Secrets to Happiness at Work and Bring Work to Life. She is the vice president of workplace insights with Steelcase and a senior contributor to Forbes and Fast Company. She is a Top 101 Experience and Engagement Influencer, and her work has been translated into 25 languages, while her TEDx talk has been viewed 8.6 million times.
In addition, she is an award-winning speaker with over 25 years of experience working with global clients to achieve business results. Tracy is on the advisory board for Kids Food Basket and for the CoDesign Collaborative. In addition, she is a coach and advisor for the Center for Leadership at Hope College and an advisor to the Michigan State University Master of Industrial Mathematics Program. She is a award-winning faculty member for CoreNet Global and for Hacking HR. Tracy’s work has been featured on CBS News, TEDx, The Wall Street Journal, Work-Life Balance in the 21st Century (book), Globe and Mail (Canada), InsideHR (Australia), HR Director (UK), T3N (Germany), Morning Wave in Busan (South Korea), Real Estate Review Journal, Fortune, Inc. Magazine, HBR (France), multiple podcasts and more.
Tracy holds a PhD in Sociology, a Master of Management in Organizational Culture, and a Master of Corporate Real Estate with a workplace specialization. You can find her on LinkedIn, X, TikTok, Instagram, Goodreads, Unsplash (photography) or at tracybrower.com. You can sign up for Tracy's mailing list here and Tracy’s LinkedIn Newsletter, Connecting the Dots, here.
Location (free parking on premises)
Kent County MSU Extension Office
775 Ball Ave. N.E. Grand Rapids, MI 49503
Conference Room A/B
Directions (Google Maps)