Is crying acceptable in the workplace?
Onscreen, Tom Hanks once asserted that there’s no crying in baseball. Fine. But should professionals shed a tear on the job?
But is breaking down and shedding a tear acceptable in the workplace?
You’ll get arguments on both sides. Here’s where I stand on the topic.
Emotion is a part of life
Jim Valvano said it best in one of my favorite videos of all time: “If you laugh, think, and cry in one day. That’s a heck of a day.”
Crying is a part of life—a big part of life. So, why would we want to remove it from the workplace? Of course, there’s a time and place for it. Should tears be shed when things don’t go your way work-wise? Probably not. In other situations, I don’t think we should shun people who shed a tear when the situation calls for it.
Keep your feelings to yourself
As much as I believe emotion is a part of life and you cannot remove that from eight to 10 hours of your day, I do think you should do whatever you can to keep it private. Missed out on that big promotion and need to just let it out? Find a conference room with no windows, and have it out.
Become a Ragan Insider member to read this article and all other archived content.
Sign up today
Already a member? Log in here.
Learn more about Ragan Insider.
