“Have you noticed that teams are more emotional lately?” Craig asked at the dinner table recently. (Such conversations are common when you work with your spouse.) I hadn’t put words to it yet, but his question helped me acknowledge the weight I’d been feeling from facilitating conversations with a stronger emotional undertone than normal. Have you noticed it? Are the stakes feeling higher, fuses getting shorter, and skins thinner? How is the emotional tenor of your team affecting you?

Why Are People So Emotional at Work?

I’m not sure what dynamics are at play, but I suspect some combination of the following is what’s manifesting in more emotional individuals and teams:

• People are increasingly overwhelmed by the amount of information they need to process and without the sense of accomplishment of feeling “done.”
• Our society and norms make it difficult to behave in a way that supports emotional self-regulation (too much distraction, sedentary lifestyles, poor quality food, sleep debt, and disruption)
• Those who work remotely experience persistent blurred lines between home and work, clouding the workday’s emotional tenor.
• Many workers are parenting children with anxiety or mood disorders and carrying the stress and emotional burden of their children’s struggles throughout their day.
• Individuals are bombarded by heightened emotions broadcast by media (and social media) algorithms that capitalize on the captivating effects of emotions.
• The movement to improve psychological safety in the workplace has helped normalize the expression of emotions that previously would have been stifled or masked.

On aggregate, the current emotional zeitgeist seems to combine increasing expectations, poor self-regulation, and greater tolerance for emotional expression. (I’d love to hear your observations and hypotheses in the comments.)

Regardless of the exact causes, I’m worried about the increase in the expression of negative emotions because emotions are contagious. The emotional state of one member can affect an entire team, a phenomenon known as emotional contagion.

What is Emotional Contagion?

Emotion contagion, first hypothesized by Hatfield (1993), occurs when one person’s observed behavior (expressions, vocalization, postures) leads first to the reflexive production of the same behaviors in another person and second to a shift in the second person’s mood shifts to match their own behaviors. Ultimately, the two people’s emotions converge.

Think of it this way: your teammate is experiencing strong emotions, which are manifest in their facial expressions, tone, and body language. You see these actions and, without knowing it, begin to mimic them. As your body language, tone, and expressions turn negative (furrowed brow, slumped shoulders), your brain interprets it as you feeling poorly. It’s a mood sandwich. (Mood burger?)

Behavior > Mood > Mood > Behavior

To be fair, emotional contagion works for negative and positive emotions, but the effect is more problematic for feelings with a negative valence.

Another important distinction is that emotional contagion is not the same as empathy. In emotional contagion, the observer begins to feel the same emotions as the target, often without conscious awareness of the convergence. On the other hand, empathy is when the observer can sense and understand the target’s feelings without experiencing them.  Cox et al. describe emotional contagion as “feeling with” and empathy as “feeling for” another person.

Why Does Emotional Contagion Matter?

You spend much of your life working, so if your colleagues bring you down, that’s a problem. That said, it’s not just a matter of morale. Multiple studies have shown that emotional contagion influences how you feel and what you subsequently think and do.

Suppose you’re working on a challenging project, and one of your colleagues stops by to unload their stress on you. In that case, the risk is that you not only start feeling stressed yourself but also that you stop working quite as hard, lose your creative spark, or abandon strategies before they’ve had a chance to work.

That can create a doom loop in your team where negative feelings lead to reduced productivity, which further depresses your mood.

The First Step in Managing Emotional Contagion

Pay attention to your colleagues’ emotional states for the next few days. Notice how your teammates’ moods, tones, and body language affect one another. Consider how your team leader’s moods and emotions affect you.

In the next post, I’ll share some techniques for managing your mood and keeping your team on a positive track.

Additional Resources

Dealing with negative emotions

3 Benefits of dealing with emotions on your team

Everybody Hurts