Abstract
Organizational scholarship often frames negative emotional displays as disruptive and problematic. However, in certain organizational contexts, for instance, bureaucratic institutions, negative emotions may be particularly useful. Bureaucratic work involves high levels of tedium, quantitative and qualitative overload, and a lack of autonomy for employees that can contribute to feelings of frustration. This study combines participant observation and interviews to explore negative emotional displays in two highly regulated public bureaucratic systems—municipal courtrooms and airport security checkpoints. We explain how employee negative emotional displays including the use of anger, frustration, sarcasm, and intimidation can have counterintuitive, yet positive, outcomes at individual, dyad or team, and organizational levels. Our findings reveal that negative emotional displays can help employees engage in role-distancing behaviors, generate collaboration and camaraderie among coworkers, and actually facilitate critical organizational processes. Theoretically, we discuss the importance of subtlety when employing negative emotional displays in bureaucratic work environments as well as several considerations for practice.