Pleasanteeism: The Smiling Mask You Need to Unmask in Your Workplace

The fast-changing professional world often ushers in new workplace trends. A new workplace trend in India is slowly emerging known as "pleasanteeism." As the name suggests, pleasanteeism involves employees putting on a cheerful attitude that contrasts sharply with their true feelings. While the aim behind many workplace trends is to enhance morale and efficiency, pleasanteeism highlights a growing issue where employees feel compelled to display false positivity.

Understanding and addressing this phenomenon is key to building a healthy, inclusive, and authentic work environment for human resource professionals and business leaders. This blog delves deep into this trend and how to prevent it.

What is Pleasanteeism?

Pleasanteeism describes a situation in which employees consistently appear positive and cheerful, even when there's a sense of stress, dissatisfaction, or burnout at their workplace. It is more than just professional courtesy or putting on a brave face. It is more about suppressing the feeling and looking engaged, upbeat, and resilient.

While maintaining professionalism is the order of the day in any workplace, pleasanteeism fosters a culture that suppresses authenticity. The workers fear letting out their genuine emotions, as it may ruin their reputation, affect their performance reviews, or risk losing a potential promotion. This will ultimately increase mental health problems, burnout, and low job satisfaction.

Why Does Pleasanteeism Happen?

Workplace expectations, organizational culture, and societal norms drive pleasanteeism. Here are some key drivers behind this trend:

• Pressure to Perform: Employees often need to demonstrate high enthusiasm and productivity, fearing that any sign of struggle may be perceived as weakness or incompetence.

• Employee Culture: In any organization where a lack of transparency and psychological safety occurs, employees keep things inside to fit cultural expectations of being overly optimistic and saying, "Can do it."

• Aversion to Stigma: Mental health issues face significant stigmas in any form. Employees may not present this issue to avoid losing a reputation as "unreliable" or "not that professional."

The Dangers of Pleasanteeism

On the surface, pleasanteeism can seem innocuous and even positive as it carries on a façade of being positive and productive. Long-term effects are, however, harmful to individuals and organizations. The following risks are associated with pleasanteeism:

• Burnout: Concealing one's true feelings and wearing a mask of perpetual positivism leads to mental and emotional exhaustion. Burnout lowers employee engagement, job satisfaction, and, ultimately, productivity.

• Lack of Authentic Communication: Open and honest communication suffers when employees fail to express their real thoughts. This leads to a toxic work environment where the individuals' concerns are not heard.

• Loss of Trust and Inclusion: Pleasanteeism results in the loss of trust among teams. Employees might feel disconnected from their colleagues and leaders, decreasing their sense of inclusion and belonging.

How to Prevent Pleasanteeism in the Workplace

Preventing pleasanteeism requires consciously creating an environment where employees feel safe expressing their genuine emotions. Some strategies to address and reduce pleasanteeism are listed below:

• Encourage Psychological Safety: Psychological safety is the foundation of a healthy workplace culture. Lead the leaders to model vulnerability and authenticity by sharing your own challenges and experiences. If it is safe for them to be vulnerable and authentic, employees are likely to be so, too.

• Promote Open Discussions: Provide space for open discussion through regular one-on-one check-ins, team meetings, and feedback sessions. Employees can be encouraged to discuss their problems and issues without apprehension of judgment or reprimand.

• Lead the Way: Leaders and managers set the tone for the workplace culture. Employees are motivated to do the same when leaders are open about their issues and prioritize well-being.

Conclusion

Pleasanteeism is an emerging workplace trend that, if left unchecked, can negatively contribute to mental health and reduce productivity and organizational culture as well. HR professionals and business leaders should be able to identify the signs of pleasanteeism and take proactive steps in improving psychological safety, enhancing mindfulness about mental health, and encouraging open communication.

With this culture of authenticity and supportiveness, organizations can eliminate pleasanteeism to create a healthier, inclusive working environment where employees become personally and professionally strong.