Getting that etiquette of crying right

Dubai: There is no clear right or wrong formula when it comes to holding it in or crying it out, a Dubai-based etiquette expert said.

Crying is a natural reaction to many of life’s circumstances and can be difficult to be controlled under a customary code.

While it may be generally assumed that in certain social settings, a person needs to be more in control of his or her feelings than in other more personal settings, Kaveeta Punjabi, managing director, KGP Etiquette Enhancers, believes “crying is a very strong and extremely genuine and sincere emotion”.

Be it celebrities, actors or singers shedding tears in front of the audience or politicians who can be deeply moved at the sight of people suffering in their country, crying, she said, has no gender or age-barrier and no one should be ever ashamed of tears.

“Crying can be joyous, or sad in moments of grief — it has various emotions. It can sometimes come out of anger and frustration in public, but this can be seen as a sign of weakness,” she said.

In the workplace, the emotion is usually frowned upon the most, she added.

“Crying in the workplace is usually unacceptable as it is seen as a negative emotion, and also as a sign that one cannot handle the stress of day to day business. However, it is a natural reaction for many if they comes someone with a fatal illness or involved in a terrible accident, then, crying as a display of human reaction is more forgiving than when you are reprimanded or critiqued by an employer,” she said.