Modern people pay much more attention to tracking and managing emotions than before. Unfortunately, emotions are not always accepted by people with understanding, and some are considered inferior to others. Alison Jaggar (1989) argues that some feelings can be called outlaws in modern society. These emotions are contrary to the well-established cultural code and social norms. These emotions include, for example, anger and sadness. They can often be associated with feminism and the feelings of other marginalized groups. These people experience outlaw emotions because they are oppressed and discriminated against. At the same time, society does not understand its mistakes; therefore, it considers these emotions not worthy of attention and proper reaction. Unfortunately, this only exacerbates social conflicts and puts people at odds with each other. Therefore, it is necessary to track these emotions, ensure that they are acceptable by society, and consider them as those that do not bring discomfort to anyone.
A particular example of outlaw emotions is the emotion of anger of employees who experience toxic managers’ influence. Managers take this anger negatively and do not listen to subordinates. They believe they are doing their job correctly and are not interested in the comfort of the employees. At the same time, people of lower rank may experience discomfort due to low salaries, unsatisfactory places of work, or even gender or age discrimination on the part of managers. If employees express their anger too vividly, managers are more likely to fire them instead of meeting their needs. As a result, people become withdrawn, do their jobs poorly, or eventually leave companies themselves. If these emotions were not outlawed, all participants in the conflict would feel much more satisfied.
Reference
Jaggar, A. M. (1989). Love and knowledge: Emotion in feminist epistemology. Inquiry, 32(2), 151-176.