What can you do in just two minutes? There are several possibilities: boil a soft-boiled egg, sharpen some pencils, write a haiku, or force yourself to do nothing at all. Oh, it also takes two minutes to silently transmit emotions to a perfect stranger sitting next to you.

Emotions are like yawning – they are infectious. Yet, they spread differently among different groups of people and the knowledge how powerful they are may be crucial to maintaining a healthy workplace atmosphere.

Check out: “Spotting Toxic Emotions Before They Infect You At Work”

Glossary

• contagious – infectious
• prevail – become dominant
• struggle – fight
• notably different – considerably different
• impede something – restrict/hinder something
• outburst – eruption
• hijack – seize control
• abandon – leave, give up, discontinue
• run on something – be fuelled by something

Think about it

Based on the text answer the following questions. Leave your answers in the comments below!

• How do emotions spread in hierarchies?
• Where can you find the amygdala and what functions does it have?
• How can you recognize the amygdala hijack and what can it be triggered by?
• What is “the human moment” and how can you make it work?
• What emotional patterns are likely to surface in the workplace?

Practice makes perfect

• Studies show that in just two minutes, silent strangers send emotions to each other, and the more emotionally expressive person’s feelings become dominant.
• The dynamic, however, is significantly different in hierarchies than in groups of equally privileged individuals.
• Therefore, in organizations, a leader’s attitude is transferred to his team, either improving or hindering the group’s overall performance.
• Digital technology has lowered communication costs but increased the likelihood of quarrels.
• Hijacks have a tendency to happen repeatedly.

Fill in the blank spaces with the correct forms of the words below.

• leader – (abstract noun)________
• prevalent – (verb)________
• interact – (noun)________
• priority – (verb)________
• interpret – (opposite)________
• appear -(opposite, noun)________
• communication – (verb)________

For those of you who aren’t low on emotion :)

Something emotive:

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