Feelings have gotten a bad rap in business. We’re conditioned to believe they are less legitimate than thoughts. We all know the saying, “It’s not personal, it’s just business.” This statement implies that rational logic supersedes subjective feelings. Yet, feelings are part of the human experience and leaving them out of decision making, judgment and interaction is not only impossible, it’s imprudent.

Recent studies (paywall) show that emotions shape intent and behavior in conjunction with cognition. Humans make simultaneous cognitive and emotional appraisals of a situation. These appraisals result in:

1. A sense of well-being

2. A set of intentions for the individual’s future behavior

In other words, the mind is a dually processing thought and emotion, determining if the situation is positive or negative and then resolving how to act. There are two big takeaways to this neuroscience research as it pertains to business:

1. Cognition and emotion are not handled separately by the brain.

2. The resulting intentions (from the appraisal process) have huge implications on employee goal pursuits and organizational outcomes.

Suppose a colleague (and friend) is let go suddenly, you’re assigned an unattainable goal or the project that you believe in is canceled after you’ve put in months of effort. Any of these situations could leave you feeling worried, unhappy, frustrated or angered, which are the most common negative emotions experienced at work.