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Guardian

Guardian

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Health

A manager’s flat response to Gail’s initiative left her deflated. Feeling seen is fundamental to human wellbeing | Gaynor Parkin

Guardian
Summary
Nutrition label

74% Informative

The psychological experience of feeling seen and heard is fundamental to human wellbeing.

When people feel genuinely understood and acknowledged by others, it activates neural pathways associated with safety and social connection.

Research shows that relationship quality between leaders and followers is built through ongoing patterns of interaction.

When managers fail to validate employee efforts, they trigger a “betrayal of the psychological contract”.

For Gail and countless others like her, our hope is that organisations will recognise the impact of invalidating management styles and invest in developing leaders who understand the profound impact of their emotional responses. Because it’s not just about making people feel good it’s about creating environments where initiative, creativity and engagement can flourish, so people can thrive.

Gail has given permission for her story to be shared. Some details have been changed for privacy.

VR Score

73

Informative language

71

Neutral language

43

Article tone

informal

Language

English

Language complexity

59

Offensive language

not offensive

Hate speech

not hateful

Attention-grabbing headline

not detected

Known propaganda techniques

not detected

Time-value

long-living

Source diversity

1

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