Fake smiling at work can damage your career

Studies have shown we like happy faces because positive emotions in others immediately boosts our own mental state. But what are the emotional consequences of trying to seem happy in order to please others? Researchers have found that we can adjust facial expressions and body gestures without actually changing our emotional state – for example putting on a smile without being happy. People performing surface acting'put on a mask', which creates an unhealthy inner conflict between expressed and felt emotions, researchers found. In an article for The Conversation, Milda Perminiene, a senior lecturer in occupational psychology at the University of East London, shows that this can cause emotional exhaustion, strain and reduced job satisfaction.