According to new research, even as employee well-being increased for the first time since 2022, negative emotions such as stress, anger and sadness continued to rise relative to pre-pandemic levels.
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Crying in the workplace is becoming commonplace, and it may signal a growing emotional crisis that employers can’t afford to ignore. According to recent research from Resume Now, 39% of workers have cried at work, and 21% haven’t cried but reported feeling close to tears. Gallup’s new “State of the Global Workplace 2026 Report” reached similar conclusions, finding that even as employee well-being increased for the first time since 2022, negative emotions such as stress, anger and sadness continued to rise relative to pre-pandemic levels.
Separate Gallup data shows that employee well-being and engagement reinforce one another, and that engaged employees who aren’t thriving are twice as likely to report daily sadness and anger. What’s more, Gallup’s “State of the Global Workplace 2026 Report” found that employee engagement dropped to 20% in 2025 from a peak of 23% in 2022, resulting in a $10 trillion productivity loss for the global economy. Simply put, the way employees feel can directly shape how businesses perform, which makes prioritizing employee emotional well-being vital for managers, executives and business owners.
The good news is that leaders have more power to turn the tide than they may realize, and it starts with how they respond to their teams’ emotions. New research published in Harvard Business Review found that leaders who take a "caring" rather than "sharing" approach to employees’ emotions report lower burnout, greater efficacy, and more engaged teams.
Authors Nick Hobson and Gregory J. Depow call this practice "wise empathy," in which leaders respond with compassion rather than sharing their own feelings when employees express how they feel. Hobson and Depow highlight that when leaders adopt wise empathy, employees view them as more effective, and that engaging with positive emotions alongside negative ones helps leaders “build stronger bonds with their employees and lift morale for their teams.”
What’s more, a study from the Research Association for Interdisciplinary Studies (RAIS) on emotional intelligence and women in leadership found that women leaders often exhibit the self-awareness, empathy and interpersonal skills that wise empathy requires. For example, one woman participant from the study took the time to understand what was driving her team's declining performance rather than focusing solely on the numbers. That decision surfaced deeper issues affecting individual workers, and by responding with care rather than pressure, she was able to increase team morale and productivity.
Despite the proven benefits of emotional intelligence and wise empathy, author Princi Tanwar also found that many businesses routinely undervalue these strengths. A recurring pain point cited by study participants was that emotional skills were frequently overlooked in workplaces heavily focused on measurable performance metrics, with one participant noting that her abilities were often dismissed because hitting targets took precedence. Despite evidence that emotional intelligence positively impacts organizational success, Tanwar’s research indicates that many companies continue to treat it as an option rather than a business imperative.
For many organizations, sidelining emotional intelligence could negatively impact both employee well-being and business outcomes. Fortunately, Hobson and Depow outline a practical framework for leaders to put wise empathy into practice, helping to avoid the pitfalls of emotional disengagement.
The authors recommend that leaders start by pausing to read the situation before reacting, regulating their own emotional response, and focusing on the other person's feelings. From there, leaders can decide whether to show "care" and compassion for negative emotions, or "share" enthusiasm for positive ones. It's also key that leaders employ active listening strategies, such as one-on-one meetings and pulse surveys, to assess how these interactions land, and continuously reflect on and improve their emotional responses.
Tanwar’s findings also offer insight into how leaders can leverage emotional intelligence to improve not just employee well-being but their own effectiveness as leaders. According to Tanwar, when women leaders lean into their emotional intelligence rather than suppress it, it can result in sharper mental clarity, stronger interpersonal relationships, and more grounded leadership over time.
As employee stress, sadness and disengagement continue to rise, the organizations best positioned to weather that reality will be the ones that treat emotional intelligence as a core leadership competency, not an afterthought. The blueprint exists, the data backs it up, and leaders who act on it stand to see tangible returns in engagement, retention and performance. For organizations serious about moving their business forward, investing in emotional intelligence may be one of the highest-leverage decisions they can make.
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