The aim of this article is to highlight the reasons why French sociology, and more particularly that of work organizations, has neglected the study of emotions. The demonstration is based on the hypothesis of joint developments in the study of emotions and organizations in the fields of psychology and sociology, mainly in France and the United States. This shows three types of approaches corresponding to three periods: utilitarian-physiological (1870-1960), cognitive-strategic (1955-1980), and constructive-psychodynamic (1980-2000). The article emphasizes that the study of emotions in France did not develop until the turn of the twenty-first century, through the analysis of work organizations, with the constructive-psychodynamic approach providing a critical perspective on the emotional prescription and responses to the problems of suffering at work.