Stress affects emotions and moods. For example, students have higher levels of fear before an exam, but their fear dissipates once the exam is over. At work, stressful daily events (a nasty e-mail, an impending deadline, the loss of a big sale, being reprimanded by your boss, and so on) negatively affect employees' moods. Also, the effects of stress build over time. As the authors of one study note, "a constant diet of even low-level stressful events has the potential to cause workers to experience gradually increasing levels of strain over time." Such mounting levels of stress and strain at work can worsen our moods, and we experience more negative emotions. Although sometimes we thrive on stress, for most of us, stress begins to take its toll on our mood.
Are the emotions that an individual is actually experiencing despite what they might display?
Displayed emotions are defined as the emotions that a person displays because it's expected or required for their job. In other words, these are emotions that you would show outwardly in order to act appropriately at work. It's important to note that displayed emotions are learned and not innate.
Researchers call this phenomenon emotional contagion (EC), in which one person's emotions transfer to another. It involves all types of emotions, from angry, sad and fearful to happy, enthusiastic and joyful.
There are four kinds of basic emotions: happiness, sadness, fear, and anger, which are differentially associated with three core affects: reward (happiness), punishment (sadness), and stress (fear and anger).