To ask if you’ve ever cried at work and then thought, “Now I’ve got to pull myself together”

[FirmTealViewer]

Whether it’s stress, frustration, or just an off day, I imagine most people have had a moment like this. But why do we feel the need to suppress it so quickly? Is it just about professionalism or is there a bigger stigma around showing emotions at work?

I don't cry often and have never cried at work. If someone has just suffered a bereavement I would find it perfectly understandable but bursting into tears every time you're stressed would be a bit tiresome.

I feel ridiculous and weak when I’ve cried in work. It’s the total lack of control, it’s embarrassing. Most people manage to get through all sorts of situations without crying. I can’t and it makes me cringe.

I haven’t cried but I did once have a ‘falling down’ moment and kicked and punched the shit out of the photocopier. My colleagues took the piss for years afterwards about my “breakdown”. I accept that it was very unprofessional (in my defence I had just lost my Dad, moved house and got married in the space of four weeks) but we’re all only human.

I've definitely cried at work, but I have to recover as I teach teenagers 😂.

Although, one particularly 'tough' lad- six foot hulking 15 year old- discovered me crying (he was delivering a message to an adults only office, I was trying to be discrete!) and was genuinely so sweet. He brought me in an Easter Egg the next to cheer me up. This is 8 years ago now, but i'll never forget it!

I think if something terrible has happened that's different but if it's just feeling stressed or frustrated or having an off day then yes we should pull ourselves together because we're at work.

Yes, quite often because I am a pretry unstable person tbh! But very rarely where anyone will see and yes, I do think it's important to 'pull myself together' because it's a professional environment. I'm a teacher so obviously can't go round crying in front of pupils but even with adults I think I have a level of responsibility to put on a front and be ok at work. Not 100% always, we're all human. But most of the time.

We're actually losing a really amazing teacher to another schook because one of the other teachers she line manages breaks down on her so often and is so emotional every day that she can't take it any more. If the situation had been managed better, it shouldn't have needed to come to that.

Yes, and I immediately went to the toilets and was followed by a group of colleagues all clucking around me like mother hens.
Admittedly I was young, and new and had just been let loose on my own after the training and was getting very stressed because I was slow and falling behind. Someone had made a passive aggressive comment about the work on my desk piling up and it touched a nerve.
The mother hens were lovely and told me to ignore the commenter (she wasn't a particularly nice person generally, and was tolerated rather than liked by everyone) but it still bothered me. I felt so silly and embarrassed. Luckily not a job where I had to deal with people face to face, but I felt I had to pull myself together very quickly. Didn't want it to become the thing that defined me in a new job.

I nearly cried a few times when I worked in call centres, usually because of really nasty customers but once when I got bad news about a co-worker. I always felt really embarrassed though, so went back to work really quickly to try and hide it.

Oh, "customers" can be horrible. I make sure I'm always polite to staff when I'm a customer because I've been where they are and it's shit when people are aggressive, there's just no need of it. Even if you are complaining, you can still be polite.