It turns out that faking happiness can hurt your health. For a 2011 study published in the Academy of Management Journal, researchers looked at the behavior of bus drivers—a profession where people are required to have many friendly interactions throughout the day and discovered that these people withdraw from their work while putting on a smile for show, and that that could have long-term deleterious health effects.
That’s such an interesting point! It’s surprising to learn that pretending to be happy can actually hurt our health. I can relate because sometimes we feel pressure to put on a happy face, especially at work. It’s important to be genuine and take care of our mental well-being, even if that means being honest about how we really feel.
Yeah, totally get that! Putting on a fake smile all day sounds like such a mental workout, especially when you’re just not feeling it—it makes sense that it could wear people down in the long run! Thanks for chiming in!