Although the experience of work is saturated with emotion, research ha
s generally neglected the impact of everyday emotions on organizationa
l life. Further, organizational scholars and practitioners frequently
appear to assume that emotionality is the antithesis of rationality an
d, thus, frequently hold a pejorative view of emotion. This has led to
four institutionalized mechanisms for regulating the experience and e
xpression of emotion in the workplace: (1) neutralizing, (2) buffering
, (3) prescribing, and (4) normalizing emotion. In contrast to this pe
rspective, we argue that emotionality and rationality are interpenetra
ted, emotions are an integral and inseparable part of organizational l
ife, and emotions are often functional for the organization. This argu
ment is illustrated by applications to motivation, leadership, and gro
up dynamics.