Surprising new research suggests it can actually be good to feel bad at work, and that feeling good in the workplace can lead to negative outcomes.

The study of emotions in the workplace, edited by University of Liverpool researchers Drs. Dirk Lindebaum and Peter Jordan, is the topic of a Special Issue of the journal Human Relations.

They found that the commonly-held assumption that positivity in the workplace produces positive outcomes, while negative emotions lead to negative outcomes, may be in need for reconsideration. This is partly due to this assumption failing to take into account the differences in work contexts which effect outcomes.

For instance, anger does not always lead to negative outcomes and can be used as a force for good through acting¹ upon injustices³. In some cases, anger can be considered a force for good if motivated by perceived violations⁴ of moral standards.

An employee, for example, could express anger constructively⁵ after a manager has treated a fellow worker unfairly.

In such cases, anger can be useful to prevent these acts of injustice² from repeating themselves in the future.

Likewise, being too positive in the workplace, rather than resulting in greater well-being⁶ and greater productivity, can lead to complacency and superficiality.

One article within the issue also finds that, within team situations, negativity can have a good affect, leading to less consensus⁷ and therefore greater discussion amongst workers which enhances team effectiveness.

An interesting contradiction is identified in another study of the special issue. Here, people derive⁸ satisfaction from doing “good” in the context of helplines by providing support to people in times of emotional distress⁹.

However, they are negatively affected¹⁰ by their line of work due to people shunning¹¹ them in social situations (e.g., since they might catch the emotional taint¹² they attribute to the profession of the helpline workers).

Lindebaum said, “The findings of the studies published in this Special Issue challenge the widely held assumption that in the workplace positive emotions generate or engender¹³ a positive outcome, and vice¹⁴ versa.

“This Special Issue adds to our knowledge and understanding of how the positive and negative dynamics¹⁵ affect the working environment and has practical application and relevance¹⁶ in the workplace.”

新研究的惊人发现表明，实际上工作时的消极情绪能带来积极效果，而积极的情绪却可能导致消极结果。

由英国利物浦大学研究人员德克·林登鲍姆（Dirk Lindebaum）博士和彼得·乔丹（Peter Jordan）博士编撰的关于工作中情绪的研究是《人类关系》杂志的一期特刊话题。

他们发现，人们普遍认为工作中的积极情绪会产生积极结果，而消极情绪会导致消极结果，这种观点有待重新思考。其原因是这一观点没有充分考虑到工作环境中差异对结果产生的影响。

例如，愤怒并不总是带来消极结果，它还可以作为对待不公平现象的正义力量。在某些情况下，若因他人违反道德标准而激发的愤怒，会被认为是正义力量。

又如，经理以不公平的方式对待同事后，员工可以建设性地表达自己的愤怒。

在这种情况下，愤怒可以有效阻止此类不公平现象在未来重演。

同样，在工作中过于积极非但不能带来更好的工作表现及更高的效率，反而会导致自满和浅薄。

特刊中的一篇文章也发现，在团队协作中，消极情绪会产生良好的影响，共识较少的情况会使员工进行更为深入的探讨，从而提高团队的工作效率。

特刊中另一项研究指出了一个有趣的矛盾点。在这项研究中，通过热线服务电话为情绪低落者提供帮助的人，会因做“好事”获得满足感。

然而，由于人们在社交场合的回避，又使他们对这项工作产生消极情绪（例如，他们可能把捕捉情感缺陷归因于接线员这个职业）。

林登鲍姆（Lindebaum）说：“发表在特刊的研究发现挑战了人们的普遍观念，即在工作中积极情绪会产生积极结果，反之亦然。”

“通过这期特刊，我们更多地了解和认识了积极和消极动态如何影响工作氛围，同时对人们工作有着实际应用和关联。”