Problem

Emotions are "intense feelings that are directed at someone or something" (Robbins & Judge 2017, p. 103) and moods are "feelings that tend to be less intense than emotions and that lack a contextual stimulus" (Robbins & Judge 2017, p. 103). An emotion and mood can be the same thing but mean something different. I can be in love with someone - emotion - and I can say "I love this day, it is great!' - mood. Both being love as the action but meaning different things. Different sources of emotions and moods range from personality, time of day, day of the week, weather, stress, social activities, sleep, exercise, age, and sex (Robbins & Judge 2017, p. 108-113). Along with these sources, there can be different intensity or strength of which these sources affect an individual. Emotional intelligence is "a person's ability to (1) perceive emotions in the self and others, (2) understand the meaning of these emotions, and (3) regulate his or her own emotions accordingly" (Robbins & Judge 2017, p. 116).

Understanding emotions, moods, and emotional intelligence is important to make a difference in organizational and group effectiveness. You could have someone in your group at work that is just in a bad mood and by utilizing emotional intelligence you can understand how to navigate through that. Same goes for someone who could be going through something personal that is causing them to be emotional at work. Knowing have to work through the touch situations is key to having a "safe place" for employees and a healthy work environment.

Robbins, S. P. & Judge, T.A. (2017). Organizational Behavior (17th ed.). Pearson Publishing.