The worth of academic psychology studies varies widely, but when I read that “people in a bad mood performed tasks better than those in a good mood” I hardly cheered up. My basic style is cheerful; life is full and good. But as revealed in Sci. Am. Mind, March/April 2010 at 12, “grumpy people paid closer attention to details, showed less gullibility, were less prone to errors of judgment and formed higher-quality, persuasive arguments than their happy counterparts.” Curmudgeons rule! Presumably, therefore, in-house lawyers with frowns, Eeyores of the department who are fluent in kvetch, turn out better work product and give more astute counsel.
Tell me it ain’t so, Joe? It’s sad, if true, that were less bad, if blue.