So you cried at the office

Anne Kreamer, author of It’s Always Personal: Navigating Emotion in the New Workplace, offers tips on how to get over it. OWN IT. “If you’re in a meeting, be direct. Say ‘Well, that hit a nerve’ and excuse yourself—even if it’s just to go get a glass of water—to regain your composure.” REFLECT. “If you’re crying in the office every day, there’s likely something far more substantive than what’s going on in the workplace. See your tears like a ‘Check engine light’ on a car dashboard. Try to develop the emotional resiliency to be self-aware.” COMMUNICATE . “Learn how to express your emotions in a more productive way to avoid the situation that made you cry in the first place. In times of high stress, try to communicate that you’re human, not a perfect paradigm of productivity—because no one can live up to that ideal.” LET IT GO. “There’s no ‘tissue ceiling’—people can be successful at all levels of management, and crying is a biological thing that people are wired to do. Don’t beat yourself up over it.”