Emotions Are Bound to Come Out at Work

According to a new survey from staffing firm Accountemps, more than four in 10 workers (45%) admitted to crying at work.

 

About the same proportion of CFOs (44%) said shedding tears is acceptable as long as it’s not an everyday occurrence. Thirty-eight percent of employees said the same.

 

Thirty-one percent of employees and 30% of CFOs said crying at work “has no negative effect—it shows you’re human.” Nearly one-third (32%) of employees and 26% of CFOs said “crying is never ok at work—people will perceive you as weak or immature.”

 

The survey also found more than half (52%) of workers have lost their temper at work. For the majority (65%), their anger was directed toward a colleague, while 37% said it was directed at a manager. Two-in-10 (21%) admitted that an anger outburst was directed at a customer, and 14% said it was directed at a vendor.

 

The surveys include responses from more than 1,000 U.S. workers age 18 and older who work in an office environment, and more than 2,200 CFOs from a stratified random sample of companies in more than 20 of the largest U.S. metropolitan areas.