Constant friendliness on the job puts a strain on the psyche
If you have to smile and be friendly all the time at work, for example in sales, you can get sick of it in the long run.
Travelers in the U.S. are often amazed at how cheerful and friendly the employees in supermarkets, restaurants and cafés are - and this despite a wage that is barely enough to survive. However, "service with a smile" is by no means optional there, but a prerequisite.
And this put-on friendliness is not healthy at all in the long run: Scientists from Pennsylvania State University and Purdue University have evaluated data collected over decades from various studies in a meta-study. The result: permanent smiling leads to emotional dissonance, is draining and can ultimately lead to burnout.
The compulsion to be friendly is also increasing more and more in this country. This is no coincidence: If a customer feels personally comfortable and sympathetic toward his counterpart, the likelihood that he will sign a sales contract increases. People with customer contact should therefore not only be competent, but also do so-called "emotion work," which means appearing friendly, smiling, showing empathy, even submitting and accepting unfairness to the service provider.
But this constant adjustment of one's own emotional world in favor of commercial interests harms the employees - and ultimately the company as well. The study leaders therefore call on companies, organizations and customers to dispense with formalized facial expressions and adopt a humanistic approach: Appreciate and support employees and ensure a positive climate at work,
