Sheryl Sandberg says in Lean In that it’s cool to cry at work. Anne Kreamer reports in her book It’s Always Personal: Emotion in the New Workplace (2011) that 41 percent of women and 9 percent of men had cried in front of others at work and it had not impacted them negatively. Dr. Peggy Drexler, in a recent article for The Daily Beast, argues that crying at work, particularly in response to institutional frustration or stress (not because of perceived personal criticism), can actually be productive by creating bonds, clearing tension, and fostering empathy among co-workers.

And yet — and yet.

And yet there’s still a debate over whether crying is something to embrace, or avoid at all costs. That’s because when ...