The Nuances of Smiling at Work
Could smiling make a difference in workplace productivity and employee satisfaction? In a new study led by Brent Scott assistant professor of management at Michigan State University the answer is only if it’s genuine. “Employers think that getting their employees to smile is good for the organization, but that’s not necessarily the case,” said Dr. Scott. “Smiling for the sake of smiling can lead to emotional exhaustion and withdrawal and that’s bad for the organization.”
Dr. Scott and a former doctoral colleague, Christopher Barnes, studied a group of city bus drivers during a two week period. They examined the effects of a fake smile compared to cultivating positive emotion by recalling pleasant memories or thinking about a current situation in a more favorable way.
The study, which appears in the current issue of the Academy of Management Journal found gender differences. The mood of women worsened even more than the men and they withdrew from work according to Dr. Scott who attributes the reaction to the fact women are expected and show greater emotional intensity and positive emotional expressiveness than men.
Turns out Peter Pan might have been right in his belief to think lovely thoughts. Dr. Scott found that thinking of a tropical vacation or a child’s dance or music recital, for example was all it took.
Tags: customer service, employee satisfaction, positive thoughts, smiling, workplace productivity
