“Glossing”, or when positivity becomes toxic in business

Loss of investment, burn-out, depression… The mental health of working people has continued to deteriorate since the Covid crisis. However, some employees feel obligated to appear happy in the office, as if simply adopting a positive attitude was enough to silence their professional unhappiness. A practice known as “glossing.”

Glossing refers to suppressing negative emotions at work, regardless of the circumstances. This desire to keep up appearances can prove harmful, not only for the employee who feigns happiness but also for his colleagues. Indeed, workers who express their true thoughts or concerns can come across as killjoys or troublemakers to their superiors.

Because, in business, it is often the desire for conformity that takes precedence. Employees tend to model themselves after their colleagues’ way of communicating and working, for fear of being ostracized if they do not conform to the expectations of their peers. If they see that their open space neighbors are displaying a smile for the occasion, 24 hours a day, they will feel obliged to do the same so as not to stand out. “[C’]is a natural reaction to anxiety or fear,” Leena Rinne, global head of coaching at Skillsoft, explains to Business Insider.

Don’t invalidate your emotions

But pretending to be happy at work isn’t enough to be happy. Worse still, it can further affect our morale. American researchers reached this conclusion after following around sixty bus drivers for two weeks. During their service, some of them practiced “surface acting”, that is, they feigned positive emotions that they did not really feel; while others were more into “deep acting”. The latter tried to be in a good mood by thinking, for example, of happy memories. In a study published in the Academy of Management Journal, scientists explain that bus drivers who pretended to be happy were more disengaged than their colleagues. Conversely, those who strove to genuinely feel joy were much more satisfied with their professional lives.

In other words, there is no point in always being smiling and enthusiastic at work if we lack the desire. However, 51% of employees “frequently” or “always” feel obliged to be in a consistently good mood at work, according to a survey conducted in 2017 with 5,000 active people. An insidious pressure that often comes from above. Indeed, leaders tend, more or less consciously, to value people with natural good nature. They like to surround themselves with willing and optimistic collaborators, who breathe positive energy into the rest of the team. Absolutely nothing wrong with that.

But the problem lies when managers create a dysfunctional environment, where employees can no longer express their doubts or their discontent. “By asking team members to simply smile more, it’s like brushing aside or invalidating any negative emotions or reactions they might experience at work or in the workplace. their private lives,” Lan Phan, author of the book “Do This Daily” and founder of the leadership development company Community of SEVEN, recently told Harvard Business Review.

Haro therefore on the “glossing”. Positive thinking is good, but you shouldn’t repress your negative feelings either. The problems you may encounter in your career will not resolve themselves if you are always in a good mood at the office. On the other hand, you will put an end to it more quickly if you speak openly about your difficulties to your teammates and your superiors. Without false pretenses or forced smiles.

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