At a seminar I attended earlier this week the presenter used a phrase which has now become my favourite, ‘emotional contagion’. The technical definition for emotional contagion is, "a process in which a person or group influences the emotions or behavior of another person or group through the conscious or unconscious induction of emotion states and behavioral attitudes". But let’s dumb it down a bit, quite simply emotional contagion is when others you’ve come into contact with catch your mood.
In open plan office environments we are exposed to the emotions and moods of others every day, and with a greater dependency on teamwork we come into contact with more people. Emotional contagion in your office could be a positive or a negative phenomenon. Have you ever worked with high energy individuals and found that your mood improves while you’re around them?
It’s not just about words either; moods are conveyed through many non-verbal cues, such as body language and facial expressions. Just as bad news travels fast, bad moods are easier to catch. This can lead to toxic environments, and a toxic office environment can be damaging to business.
Often, we don’t consider how our mood might affect those around us. I spoke with a colleague once about working with difficult people and he said to me, “how would you feel if you had to work with you?”. The statement stayed with me, when you’re having conflict with someone you can soon find yourself behaving in similar ways to them and exacerbating the situation. Likewise with a bad mood in the office, if there are issues between subordinates and a manager it is not uncommon to see people beginning to band together and the mood of the office becoming worse as the conflict continues.
Not surprisingly, positive mood contagion will lead to less group conflict and more cooperation - happy people work better. What can be done to make the mood in your office worth catching? If the environment has become toxic it can be very difficult to improve the mood, manager’s need to take action, manager’s are ‘power holders’ and can have the ability to improve the situation.
The ripple effect of emotional contagion can have positive or negative consequences for your business and each person has the power and ability to make a difference. Next time you notice a mood taking over, ask yourself ‘how would you feel if you had to work with you?’
In open plan office environments we are exposed to the emotions and moods of others every day, and with a greater dependency on teamwork we come into contact with more people. Emotional contagion in your office could be a positive or a negative phenomenon. Have you ever worked with high energy individuals and found that your mood improves while you’re around them?
It’s not just about words either; moods are conveyed through many non-verbal cues, such as body language and facial expressions. Just as bad news travels fast, bad moods are easier to catch. This can lead to toxic environments, and a toxic office environment can be damaging to business.
Often, we don’t consider how our mood might affect those around us. I spoke with a colleague once about working with difficult people and he said to me, “how would you feel if you had to work with you?”. The statement stayed with me, when you’re having conflict with someone you can soon find yourself behaving in similar ways to them and exacerbating the situation. Likewise with a bad mood in the office, if there are issues between subordinates and a manager it is not uncommon to see people beginning to band together and the mood of the office becoming worse as the conflict continues.
Not surprisingly, positive mood contagion will lead to less group conflict and more cooperation - happy people work better. What can be done to make the mood in your office worth catching? If the environment has become toxic it can be very difficult to improve the mood, manager’s need to take action, manager’s are ‘power holders’ and can have the ability to improve the situation.
The ripple effect of emotional contagion can have positive or negative consequences for your business and each person has the power and ability to make a difference. Next time you notice a mood taking over, ask yourself ‘how would you feel if you had to work with you?’
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