Faking a smile or a cheery positive attitude backfires when used on coworkers, as University of Arizona researchers led by Allison Gabriel found out in their study. From studying groups of people from different industries, such as education and manufacturing, the researchers discovered that employees who fake their emotions at work tend to feel more emotionally exhausted and inauthentic at work. EurekAlert has more details:
While some managers Gabriel spoke to during the course of her research still believe emotions have little to do with the workplace, the study results suggest there is a benefit to displaying positive emotions during interactions at work, she said.
"I think the 'fake it until you make it' idea suggests a survival tactic at work," Gabriel said. "Maybe plastering on a smile to simply get out of an interaction is easier in the short run, but long term, it will undermine efforts to improve your health and the relationships you have at work."
"In many ways," Gabriel added, "it all boils down to, 'Let's be nice to each other.' Not only will people feel better, but people's performance and social relationships can also improve."
image via wikimedia commons
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These studies don't hold up in reality - depends on the age/sex/culture of the people you work with. And you'll be working with completely different people each shift, depending what type of work you do. Not even taking into account whether youre a Pisces born Year of the Tiger or a Leo born Year of the Rabbit, and so forth. Life just isn't this simple.
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