Managing Emotions in the Workplace: Do Positive and Negative
Attitudes Drive Performance?
You know the type: coworkers who never have anything positive to say, whether at the weekly staff meeting or in
the cafeteria line. They can suck the energy from a brainstorming session with a few choice comments. Their bad
mood frequently puts others in one, too. Their negativity can contaminate even good news. “We engage in
emotional contagion,” says Sigal Barsade, a Wharton management professor who studies the influence of
emotions on the workplace. “Emotions travel from person to person like a virus.”