Being in a bad mood ‘can actually help you to get things done’

When people are grumpy, it’s a natural instinct for colleagues to ‘keep their heads down’ and avoid them – but it can actually be the best time to get things done.

Researchers at the University of Waterloo found that being in a bad mood helps people to focus attention, manage time and prioritize tasks.

Being in a good mood has a negative effect on all these things, if you’re the kind of person who has rapid, intense emotional responses.

Such ‘high reactive’ people performed better on tasks when experiencing a bad mood, says Tara McAuley, a psychology professor at the University of Waterloo.

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McAuley says, ‘Our results show that there are some people for whom a bad mood may actually hone the kind of thinking skills that are important for everyday life

‘People shouldn’t interpret the results as saying it’s fine to fly off the handle or overreact, or to be grouchy.

‘We know that emotional reactivity differs from person to person starting at a very early age and that these individual differences have implications for mental health later in development.’