Reading Fiction Linked to Increased Emotional Intelligence
BY LINDA K. JOHNSON, Ph.D. - AUG 8, 2022
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Are you looking for ways to improve communication between employees? A 2020 Harvard Business Review article, “The Case for Reading Fiction,” explored neuroscience research indicating reading fiction helps employees develop empathy and critical thinking. While the rapidly changing external environment demands employers and employees keep up by reading nonfiction reports and documents, the HBR article states, “reading fiction predicts increased social acuity and a sharper ability to comprehend other people’s motivations.”
Businesses cited in the article incorporated fiction reading into employee activities and discussions. Several companies worked with Books@Work to design small discussion group reading programs. Discussions help to create shared language that assists when discussing complex work situations and foster deeper understanding of fellow employees’ motivations.
For instance, reading and discussing Sophocles’ Antigone helps create dialogue about how the value of competing perspectives. Antigone is called before her uncle, King Creon, to defend her decision to mourn her brother’s death and violate Creon’s law. Antigone argues passionately for her divine right to honor her family over obedience to state law.
Nancy Kidder with Books@Work shared her experience that “participants who read and discuss are more willing to tackle tough questions. Her participants have pondered questions about how we balance tradition with innovation; how we sometimes fail to see others’ viewpoints; and how we might listen to each other with more care.”
How might you incorporate these ideas into your workplace…or home? For more information on the HBR article: https://hbr.org/2020/03/the-case-for-reading-fiction