There’s something to be said about positive thinking in the workplace, and it’s popular to find a work environment that advocates positivity. Of course, there’s no denying the impact of a positive mindset on work-life, but is it the only way to go?
It’s debatable if faking being happy at work can impact your productivity, but there’s much to be said about toxic work culture that negatively affects your physical and mental life.
In Samantha Quick’s article titled, “Stop Faking It Until You Make It,” she shares her story and spreads awareness about the toxicity of work culture in the present times.
Should you fake being happy at work?
Samantha recounts how she became a leader at the young age of just 21. Looking back, Samantha realizes how she needed to be at convincing herself and others around her that she was happy with her job as the Resident Director when she was at the Pratt Institute for Communication Design.
From being ecstatic about her role as a leader for the first time, her unwavering positive mindset about her field of work at the time is what she describes as her first time faking it at work. While she was initially happy about joining the workforce, when she got an unexpected call from her boss informing her of a student who had died by suicide on what was to be her first day of work broke her in so many ways she no longer found happiness at her job.
However, she put on a brave face and faced every day like she could handle everything that life threw her way. Like Samantha, most people feel the need to look tough and confident even when that’s not the reality. There’s an overwhelming pressure to fake your feelings and emotions, especially in a working environment where they say one person’s mood can affect the rest of the team. And no one wants to be the cause of distress, so you take the high road and fake being happy, confident, and satisfied when you don’t want anything to do with the job.
People do this not out of the intention of faking it at work but as a manifestation of blind optimism. This blind optimism also led Samantha to panic every time the phone rang because she never truly moved on from that first initial phone call from her boss.
To top it off, her position as a leader didn’t make it easier, and it made her harder on herself because she was to take the lead on projects and guide a whole team while targeting maximum productivity.
Why are people not keeping it real at the workplace?
Many people go through this dilemma. It’s tough for people in power to show vulnerability because you don’t want to seem like you’re not fit for the job. Everyone wants to be treated with respect, which forces people to create a web of lies they tell themselves, like “this is my dream job” and “I’m happy where I am.”
There are so many books, videos, talk shows, and podcasts about authentic leadership and how to be successful. But none of these will make you feel okay with your position until you start to keep it real.
There’s intense pressure for many people regarding their work-life; they need to be mentally strong, vigilant, productive and spread positivity within the workspace. Of course, there’s no denying that these thoughts are good for business, but is it perfect for your mental well-being?
Why is it so essential to hustle?
Slogans like “Too inspired to be tired!” and “Work for it more than you hope for it” were created to motivate people. Still, it harms the work culture because now people are forced to fake being happy, motivated, and satisfied with their jobs.
If the 2020 pandemic has taught us anything, many people will suffer from mental unrest regarding productivity guilt. As a society, we’ve been pruned and molded only to think positive thoughts and always give our best because that’s the work culture that everyone is forced to instill. Yet, when everything was toppled upside down because of the pandemic, people started feeling extremely stressed out for not doing enough and disappointed in themselves for not reaching their potential.
On the other hand, another section of the population felt at ease and happy with all their responsibilities lowered. Without commuting to a place they dreaded and sitting at a desk they didn’t like or being in an environment that gave them extreme stress, they experienced a satisfying sense of relief.
Where does the pressure come from?
The pressure that social media is putting out to be the best of the best in every situation isn’t helping the matter at all. Everyone is posting about all the fun things they are doing with their lives, creating the persona of the ideal life, which supposedly can only come from hard work and hustle. This makes the idea in the audience’s minds that they’re not doing enough and need to push themselves to reach multiple goals, which are sometimes unrealistic.
This is what we mean by productivity guilt. People are dragging their mental and physical health through the dirt to get validation from people they don’t know.
Samantha recounts when she hit her lowest, working multiple full-time jobs, freelancing, and contracting simultaneously. She was living the life of the #girlboss that everyone was striving for, and it was all happening for her until her body decided it was enough and shut down. Even then, she chose to keep faking it and went to work every day because she feared being looked down upon for taking sick leaves.
Such is the toxicity of living a fake happy work life. You show everyone your best traits and work tirelessly because you feel the burden of your responsibility in inspiring someone and motivating your colleagues. But you’re not the person they see at the end of the day, so you’re still drowning in all your stress and anxiety. Perhaps, the fake life you portray to your colleagues could put them under pressure; to be as “perfect” as you are and set off the cycle of productivity guilt and never being enough.
Closing Thoughts:
There’s an alarming rise in the need for validation among many youngsters, killing their mental health. The constant need to be busy and feeling guilty for the 5 minutes of downtime you take cause concern.
Until Samantha finally experienced burnout, she never stopped faking it. And through her article, she has shed light on a very significant problem within the society that everyone shares at some point but never talks about. Her changed mindset on the #girlboss culture is an inspiring story to help change the way people look at the hustle culture.