Emotion Science Simplified: Why Emotion at Work Is Messier (and More Political) Than You Think
Exploring Emotion Science. Numbers v Narratives.
Most emotion research at work falls into two camps. One counts emotions. The other listens to stories. And according to Stephen Fineman, only one of these truly captures the messy, human reality of how we feel at work.
In his paper “Appreciating Emotion at Work: Paradigm Tensions,” Fineman critiques the over-simplification of emotion in organisational science. He makes a passionate case for moving beyond tidy surveys and into the rich, political, uncomfortable truth of workplace emotion.
Two Ways to Study Emotion at Work
Fineman defines a key tension:
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Essentialist approach: Emotions are seen as internal states inside individuals. Researchers try to measure them like any other variable through surveys, tests, and scores. This is where emotional intelligence and positive psychology usually sit.
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Interpretivist approach: Emotions are shaped by the world around us, our culture, relationships, language, and power dynamics. Researchers using this lens listen to people’s stories and explore the deeper context of how feelings are expressed, understood, and judged.
Fineman argues that this second approach better reflects the real emotional experience of people at work, especially in areas like leadership, customer service, burnout, and change.
“The experiential realities of feeling and emotion may sometimes be difficult to express. However, the short cuts offered by pre-structured surveys... are apt to produce phantom images.”
— Fineman (2005)
Emotional Labour Is More Than a Smile
Fineman explores emotional labour, a concept made famous by Arlie Hochschild. It’s the emotional effort workers make to manage how they appear, especially in customer-facing roles.
In essentialist research, this gets reduced to a few survey questions (e.g. “How often do you fake a good mood?”). But interpretive studies show the real toll: feeling like a “zombie” after hours of deep acting, or finding quiet moments of resistance to get through the day.
He also shows how emotional labour is often gendered, underpaid, and invisible yet still baked into organisational life.
The Trouble with Emotional Intelligence
EI is one of the most popular ideas in modern leadership. But Fineman calls it “an uneasy mix of half-truths, value presumptions and marketing panache.”
Why?
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It assumes there’s one ideal way to behave emotionally.
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It frames emotions as things to control, rather than understand.
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It overlooks cultural differences and emotional diversity.
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And it can label people as "less than" if they don't match the ideal emotionally intelligent profile.
“There is an undisguised ethos of US ‘positive mental attitude’... a dating-agency of desirable qualities.”
— Fineman (2005)
Is Positive Organisational Scholarship a Little Too Positive?
Fineman also questions the rise of positive organisational scholarship, movements that focus on optimism, gratitude, hope, and joy at work.
While well-intentioned, these approaches can:
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Ignore the hard realities of organisational life
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Paint “negative” emotions as problems to be fixed
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Be used by leaders to gloss over deeper issues
He reminds us that so-called negative emotions like anger, fear, and sadness are not failures. They’re part of the emotional fabric of work. They can lead to growth, connection, and learning.
His Big Argument
Fineman ultimately favours interpretive approaches. Not because they’re perfect, but because they:
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Honour the messy, lived experience of emotion
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Reveal the politics behind emotional expectations at work
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Avoid turning emotion into just another performance metric
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Give space for contradictions, complexity, and real human expression
He closes with a challenge:
Don’t treat emotion at work like something to be optimised. Treat it as a window into how people actually live, adapt, connect and sometimes resist inside organisations.
Why It Matters
If you’re a leader, coach, or consultant, Fineman’s work reminds us:
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Emotional tools need context, not just charisma
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Listening to stories reveals what surveys can’t
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Positive emotion isn’t always the goal. Meaningful emotion is.
Next time you’re asked to measure or manage emotions at work, pause and ask: “What might we be missing by not listening more deeply?”
Simple Next Steps
1. Start free. See for yourself why The Emotional Culture Deck is changing how people and teams master their emotions. Our free PDF version is a simple, no-obligation way to cut and care. Download here now ←
2. Try this activity:
Start with one story. Ask someone to take The ECD cards and select the white cards that best describe a time they had to hide how they really felt at work. Then just listen.
3. Want to go deeper?
Check out our Emotional Culture Crafting Course, where we explore how to use tools like The Emotional Culture Deck to shift emotion from hidden cost to human connection. Click here to learn more ←
