Having "Social Intelligence"

I am not sure if I am the only person that thinks this, but some of the younger generations (mine included) have/are becoming more and more disrespectful and arrogant. These are not the qualities that future employers want. I have recently read an interesting article by Growing Leaders called "The First Soft Set Skill to Develop in Students". This article is about how first impressions are extremely important and how having "social intelligence" is something employers look for. Going back to being disrespectful and arrogant, no employer wants these kinds of people in the workplace, and unfortunately, more people are becoming so. It's not just our generation too, we may encounter a coworker who does not really treat us like they should, or treat us like we are inferior or below them (which is a really mean thing to do). We could encounter these people on a day to day basis in the workplace. The key is know how to personally deal with these kinds of people. You could politely ask them to not treat you in that manner, or even ignore their behavior all together.

 The article defines "social intelligence" as "the capacity to effectively negotiate complex social relationships and environments"(Growing Leaders). The article states that having social intelligence includes:

• Empathy
• Attunement
• Social Cognition
• Concern
• Self-presentation
• Influence

I agree with all of these. You definitely need these attributes in order to create relationships in the workplace, which is very important. Also, because social intelligence is becoming a rare quality to have, many employers are looking for this, especially in a first impression. Employers tend to know whether or not they want to hire you within the first minute of meeting you, so having "social intelligence" or learning how to have these qualities will definitely make a positive impact.

~Sarah