Moods Are Infectious Too!

We all know that a bad mood can affect your ability to work and interact with those around you, and research also backs this up. You can also "catch" a bad mood from someone around, as well as "pass on" your bad mood. Plus we all know of energy vampires who seem to drain us just by being near us...

Sigal Barsade, a management professor at Wharton School, Pennsylvania, has done research on emotional contagion (the passability or infectiousness of moods) that show that we unconsciously mimic the expressions and demeanor of those around us, along with their moods! We may be oblivious of this effect, but it still influences how we think and what we do, she says.

Fortunately, the reverse is also true! Good moods are as infectious—so let a smile be your umbrella!

According to Barsade's research, "positive moods are better for promoting confidence, creativity and new ideas, but negative moods can be good for focusing on the work at hand and getting it done," she said. "That is because people in bad moods tend to be more realistic, more self critical and more attuned to detail."

—from The New York Times