SELF-CONTROL AT THE WORKPLACE

Abstract

More and more managers are realizing the important role and significance of behavioral skills for
achieving desired and expected work performance, creating a favorable work environment, maintaining good
interpersonal relationships and increasing the competitiveness of the organization. Behavioral skills are primarily
psychological in nature, i.e. they are dependent on signs of the psychological state of the person and are of primary
importance for the achievement of individual, team and organizational goals. Self-control is a key behavioral skill in
the workplace. It is an ability that allows employees to be objective, to consider all circumstances and perspectives,
to take reasoned actions and not to react impulsively and in accordance solely based on their own emotional state.
The manifestation of self-control affects the qualitative and quantitative performance of work tasks, as well as the
results that employees achieve in work. Self-control is an ability necessary to create a positive and functional work
environment. Most conflicts and wrong decisions in the workplace are the result of a lack of behavioral skills,
including low levels of self-control. Loss of control can have lasting effects and have a profoundly negative impact
on the individual and their relationships with the people they work with. Self-control can be measured and improved
over time by using a variety of techniques and strategies. The aim of this article is to define self-control, to argue its
importance and to present a tool that can be used to identify employees' ability to control their emotions at work. An
empirical study was carried out in a large Bulgarian organization with the subject of activity production and trade of
confectionery. The study proves that the ability of working persons to maintain self-control has an impact on the
achievement of high results in work, the quality performance of managerial, organizational and production activities
and, accordingly, the successful functioning of the company in the current variable and increasingly demanding
business environment. The tool presented in this article is applicable in any organization, regardless of its size and
subject of activity. It can be used to examine the level of self-control of managers, specialists and workers. Through
the use of the instrument, the management of the organization can establish the presence of problem areas related to
the self-control of the persons employed in the company and, on this basis, take targeted actions in the direction of
overcoming them. Involving employees in training related to awareness of the importance of controlling emotions at
work, as well as learning specific techniques to improve the ability to exercise self-control, will increase the
motivation of employees, which is a prerequisite for increasing their productivity and efficiency at work place.