Emotional intelligence and emotion work are two research areas traditionally presented as distinct. This article reviews their definitions, examines their intersections, and illustrates the advantage of approaching emotion research from an interdisciplinary framework. Conclusions address the following: (a) An employee's emotional intelligence or cognitive abilities cannot be assessed or developed without an understanding of the context or emotion work rules; (b) an employee's emotional intelligence provides the foundational ability to perceive the display rules within a given job context or situation; (c) emotion work cannot be performed well without possessing a foundation of emotional intelligence. Those responsible for employee development must help the employee develop cognitive abilities and knowledge about contextual emotional expression rules. Implications for human resource development address ways professionals can utilize this interdisciplinary perspective in research and practice and the importance of developing both cognitive abilities and contextual knowledge about emotions to help employees develop emotional intelligence and perform emotion work. (Contains 2 tables.)