Several studies show that the moods of leaders significantly impact the people surrounding them. This is noticeable in work environments; the mood of the boss at any particular time signals how the people in the workplace react or feel. An employee knows better than to mess around with the boss’ sullen mood. On the other hand, cheers and celebratory moods are typical when the big boss is happy with the monthly sales.
Scientists have an explanation for this. The human brain’s limbic system is open-loop; it depends on external stimuli to manage itself. The limbic system, which is the center of human emotion, relies on other human beings to determine how it’ll feel. In human evolution, humans have become more interdependent because of the open-loop system. A person’s suffering is lessened because of another person’s concern; a baby stops crying because of the mother’s nurturing; a win is doubly triumphant because of jubilant cheers.
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A scientific research study shows that the presence of a support person in the intensive care unit decreases the patient’s blood pressure and slows production of fatty acids that could block the arteries. In a similar study, intense stress compounds death rate in solitary middle-aged adults, while the same stress doesn’t significantly affect men who have strong support systems.
In the laboratory, researchers observed two people having a conversation. The heart rates of the subjects were measured at the start, and these were recorded to be of markedly different rhythms. After 15 minutes of conversation, measurements were made again, and surprisingly, the heart rates were significantly similar. In 1981, Howard Friedman and Ronald Riggio conducted a study and concluded that, even during nonverbal encounters, an emotionally expressive person is able to transmit his or her emotions to complete strangers in the same environment.
According to scientists, a person sends signals that affect the hormone levels, natural body rhythms, and other physiological functions of another person in the same environment. The open-loop system makes it possible for physically intermingling people to also emotionally and physiologically intermingle.
In an office or any workplace, employees catch each others’ emotions. A study conducted in 2000, studied 70 work teams to determine how they shared moods and emotions. Monitoring their moods for more than one week, the researchers found that the team members’ moods were highly interdependent of each other. Moods, whether good or bad, were shared like the bug. Incidentally, humor quickly gets to the good side of everyone.