Emotions, according to Greenberg and Baron (2003), can be defined as “overt reactions that express feelings about events.” The same researchers differentiate emotions from moods, claiming that moods are less reactive than emotions, existing in the background instead. Emotions arise due to a variety of reasons, such as needs, ambition, personal development, or the orientation of attention (Andries, 2011). Examples of such emotions include fear, anger, joy and pride among others, and are widely believed to be the antithesis of rational thought (Greenspan, 2002, as cited in Kirman, Livet and Teschl, 2010). This belief has led many to claim that within the workplace, the presence of emotions is problematic for organizations, as it may lead employees to think irrationally and perform erratic or unpredictable actions. However, it should be noted that emotions are an unavoidable aspect of dealing with human employees, therefore, the emotions felt by these individuals should be acknowledged by the organization and controlled or redirected to avoid an undesirable outcome, or in some cases, result in increased profitability through the use of emotional labor. Therefore, this paper will firstly use existing research to present how and why emotions are viewed negatively in organizations and discuss the consequences of such a view. Secondly, the impact of emotions on various aspects of employee performance will be considered, with a focus on the affective events theory. These effects will be further explored, with a focus on the positive effects through the broaden-and-build theory. Moreover, the regulation of emotions in the workplace through display rules and other mechanisms will be analyzed. Finally, the use of emotional labor will be examined to show that in some industries, especially service sectors, emotions can be used to boost customer satisfaction and therefore profits. To begin with, modern workplaces are often thought to be places devoid of emotions, with an emphasis on rational thought which does not allow for any emotional expression or experiences. However, as claimed by Ashkanasy et al. (2002), workplaces are as emotional as any other aspect of an individual’s social life. As mentioned previously, emotions may arise due to a variety of causes, many of which are unavoidable in a workplace. Organizations often fall under various economic or market pressures and have hierarchical power structures, with an uneven distribution of resources and privilege (Fineman, 2010). Fineman (2010) continues, claiming that such pressures may lead to the rise of negative emotions such as fear or anger. When these negative emotions such are left unchecked, they may escalate and lead to detrimental behaviors through a process known as “spinning” (Mitchell and Noakes-Fry, 2013). These detrimental behaviors, according to Fineman (2010), include resistance to executive instructions, lack of motivation, absenteeism, and in some extreme cases, a bullying culture w ...