Understanding and Managing Workplace Emotions

Naira Velumyan, PhD, Communication/Relationship Coach, Etiquette Expert, Founder of the Academy of Social Competency.

For decades, there has been an unwritten rule that emotions belong outside the workplace. A good employee is expected to be rational and modulated, while a good leader is expected to remain objective and in control. This is not always the case. It is becoming increasingly difficult to argue that emotions can be separated from business. They shape how people make decisions, solve problems, respond to change and ultimately perform at work.

Although emotions themselves are not always measurable directly, extensive data demonstrate strong links between employees’ emotional experiences and key organizational outcomes. Based on Gallup’s “State of the Global Workplace 2026” report, only 20% of employees worldwide are engaged at work, while 16% are actively disengaged. At the same time, 40% reported experiencing stress, 23% reported sadness, 22% anger and 22% loneliness.

The business implications of these numbers are substantial. Gallup estimates that low employee engagement alone cost the global economy approximately $10 trillion in lost productivity last year, equivalent to nearly 9% of global GDP. Importantly, this estimate reflects only the economic impact of disengagement. It does not account for the additional costs associated with burnout, absenteeism, employee turnover or mental healthcare.

Taken together, these findings leave little room for debate. Employees’ emotional experiences are not merely personal matters; they are business variables. Faced with these realities, organizations continue to invest heavily in employee well-being. Recent surveys show that 91% of employers plan to increase investment in mental health solutions, 66% are expanding stress management and resilience programs and 55% are investing more in mindfulness initiatives.

These investments are important, and many of them improve employees’ quality of life. However, they also reflect a common assumption that emotions themselves are the problem to be addressed. But what if emotions are not the problem at all? What if they are an indicator that something within the organization requires attention? Then, instead of asking how to reduce stress, frustration or disengagement, leaders might ask a different question: What is this emotion trying to tell us?

Neuropsychologist Pavel Simonov proposed the “Need-Informational Theory of Emotions,” offering comprehensive answers to this question. He defined an emotion as a function of two major information factors: “(1) power and quality of actual need (or drive, or motivation) and (2) estimation of probability (possibility) of need satisfaction on the basis of phylo- and ontogenetic experience.”

According to his theory, emotions do not arise randomly. They reflect both the importance of a person’s goal and the person’s confidence in being able to achieve it. In other words, emotions do not simply reflect how people feel; they tell us how people evaluate their chances of achieving something that matters to them. The more meaningful the goal and the lower that confidence, the stronger the emotional response. Here are a few examples:

• A stressed employee may be facing demands that exceed the time, resources or support that are available. Stress here may signal not only the pressure but also a growing concern that success is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve.

• An anxious employee may lack the information, clarity, resources or confidence needed to believe the goal is achievable. Feelings of anxiety often point to uncertainty rather than inability.

• An angry employee may not just be a difficult personality. Anger may reflect the perception that an important goal is being blocked by obstacles, unfair treatment or a lack of control over the situation.

• A disappointed employee may be experiencing a gap between the reality and the expectations they formed, whether they involve greater support, recognition, opportunities for growth or promised outcomes.

• A frustrated employee may have the motivation to achieve an important goal but is unsure how to get there. Frustration may signal insufficient guidance, unclear processes, limited skills or repeated unsuccessful attempts despite genuine effort.

Recognizing the emotions as diagnostic signals naturally changes how leaders should respond to them. Instead of moving directly from emotion to action, they should identify the emotion first, investigate the causes and only then plan an appropriate response. To put this approach into practice and help leaders make better-informed decisions, I developed the 5D Framework, with the following five sequential questions:

1. Detect: What emotion am I observing? Recognize the emotion without judging or suppressing it. Every emotion bears information, and an accurate detection would be a starting point for effective resolution.

2. Determine: What meaningful goal is this employee trying to achieve? Emotions occur in relation to goals. Without understanding the goal, the emotion has no context or meaning.

3. Diagnose: What information, resources, support, authority or conditions are missing for the employee? This is where the real diagnosis begins. The objective is to uncover the underlying causes rather than react to the emotional response itself.

4. Decide: Is the underlying cause primarily individual, managerial or systemic? Different causes require different solutions. Too often, leaders focus on the individual when the real issue may be in communication, processes or priorities.

5. Design: What intervention would increase the employee’s confidence that the goal is achievable? The intervention should address the underlying cause, not just reduce the emotional reaction. Changing the conditions would naturally change the emotions.

The 5D Framework shifts the focus from immediate reactions to analyzing the conditions that produce emotions. While financial indicators provide an overall picture of business dynamics, addressing workplace emotions offers different but important insights. They reveal how employees perceive their ability to achieve meaningful goals and whether the organization is creating the conditions for success.

The effects of those conditions first appear in employees’ emotions long before they are reflected in financial outcomes. Therefore, turning to emotions as diagnostic information is a way to start improving the systems that shape them. Asking, “What is this emotion trying to tell us?” may help you, and others, realize that emotions are not always obstacles to performance but valuable information to interpret, address and guide the overall success of the organization.​​​

Source: Forbes