What Good Are Emotions at Work?

What Good Are Emotions at Work?What good are emotions at work? When is a time to break the ice and get to know each other?Last week I was at a luncheon and someone asked me what good are emotions at work? (She was a new employee and the supervisor had suggested I should write this week's paper.) Before I could answer she said, 'It would be a very powerful topic to ask about. A lot of people would be very upset and that would ruin their careers.'Oh, my gosh, she was right, how could I offend a woman in such a way? How could I talk about how an emotional reaction can affect a professional relationship? How could I explain the value of having boundaries, work-life balance, etc., etc? ?Well, really, when you get right down to it, it is a question of what good are emotions at work. The issue is this: if you are trying to find out how to build a relationship with someone who is a co-worker, or a client, or a boss, then perhaps you have reached the end of the road as far as 'how good are em otions at work?' For the most part, a lot of these problems stem from a lack of understanding between you and your colleague.At some point in the future (for some people), it can be a very painful experience to encounter a negative comment from a colleague or client. Many people will find themselves saying, 'Well, I will just ignore it. That's all you can do.'Why should you bother to put up with someone else's bad moods? Does anyone really want to spend their entire working life with a person who does not show an ounce of care? Perhaps we should decide on the best solution, which is to focus on our positive relationships with those whom we work with whom we deal with on a regular basis. Then we should turn the focus back to the client or co-worker who makes a negative comment.So, in a nutshell, what good are emotions at work? If your coworker makes a negative comment, say something like, 'I am going to ignore this comment today. I will focus on working with the client, or on buildin g my career.'