The Bad Mood of Your Boss Really Affects the Rest of The Office

Your summer cold is not the only thing you can pass on to your colleagues.

Your emotions can also be contagious.

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This means that a bad mood not only affects your work performance, but can also affect your team.
"Emotions are spreading like wildfire," said Annie McKee, author of How To Be Happy Work.
Negative emotions can be detrimental to the office: they can affect productivity, morale and quality of work and increase absenteeism.
"You can be in a bad mood," said Sigal Barsade, a professor of management at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. "There is a certain part of your mind that focuses on the negative, that takes away your cognitive abilities, and you are not aware of it."
The good news is that positive emotions are just as contagious and can create a more productive and harmonious work culture.
Research shows that a good mood not only promotes creativity. This can also lead to better decision-making.

"You can count better and make better analyzes and decisions than if you are in a negative or neutral mood," said Barsade.
But life happens: we spill coffee in traffic jams, we have family problems or we have an unfortunate customer who flouts unreasonably.
And we can not always be in a good mood.
However, there are ways in which we can prevent our emotions from spreading and managers should pay attention to their employees to make sure that their team is not unintentionally infected.

How you can change the gear

The mood of a manager can greatly influence the moods of his employees.
"If a manager has a particularly bad day, you're probably going to have a bad day," McKee said.
Recognizing your bad mood is Step 1.

Trying to hide your bad mood by not talking about it does not always work. Most emotional communication happens through body language, facial expression and tone, Barsade explained.
Plastering a smile and faking a good mood, referred to as surface acting, can lead to a turnaround, but it can have a long-term impact.
"It can cost a person more in terms of burnout," warned Barsade. A more deeply active approach, using positive memories, thoughts, and imagination to change your mood, can be more effective.
Walking, meditating or breathing deeply can also turn bad mood.

It's also helpful if you make your bad mood transparent.
Tell your team that you had a hard morning with your kids and then made a terrible journey to work and it would take you several minutes to regroup. This not only prevents workers from worrying about being the cause of your bad temper, it also shows that it's okay to talk about emotions in the workplace.

 If you see a bad mood spreading

Managers need to look for team members who are in a bad mood.
"A bad apple can significantly lower productivity and morale," said Liz Fosslien, co-author of "No Hard Feelings: The Secret Force Embracing Emotions at Work."
"If you are the manager and someone seems to be unhappy or frustrated ... it is the duty to have a conversation with the person to protect the team."
The key is to approach the situation with compassion and privation.
"Do not do it when triggered," McKee recommended. "Choose a time carefully ... you do not want them to feel threatened or scared."
The conversation should be straightforward and focused on how to help the employee.
"Employees respect and cherish when managers pay attention to their emotions, showing that they care for them and see them as human beings," said Barsade.
When things in the office are particularly stressful for everyone, such as For example, if a large project with a tight deadline, all working hours, a manager should not be afraid to tackle the issue directly.
"You can talk with emotions without becoming emotional," Fosslien said. She suggested reporting how the situation affects you, and also presented a way to meet the deadline and plans to celebrate when she's done.
When an employee begins to air and overhaul a meeting, the supervisor should step in and pan the conversation to be more productive and take action.
"Do not talk - ask, what could have been better," Fosslien suggested.