Winning ways to maintain a positive outlook in the workplace

Winning ways to maintain a positive outlook in the workplace

It is likely that you experience a variety of negative emotions every day – from waking up on the wrong side of the bed, feeling frustrated during your commute, to being bothered by the pile of emails that awaits you at work. 

You probably don’t express all those emotions once you get to work. After all, there are implicit norms for treating those around you with respect and courtesy, and you don’t want to create the impression that you’re constantly frustrated or irritated with them. You may also have heard about the benefits of maintaining a more optimistic outlook.

But is there really an advantage to being positive around your colleagues? What are the most successful ways to do it? To answer these questions, a survey of more than 2 500 full-time employees in various industries ranging from finance to healthcare to education was undertaken. The research will soon be published in the Journal of Applied Psychology. The findings suggested that positivity has some benefits. 

Previous research has shown that that emotional regulation, often referred to as “emotional labour”, is particularly pervasive in certain sectors of the workforce such as customer service, where there are explicit norms to engage in “service with a smile”. But the research was instead focused on interactions with colleagues.

Surface acting and deep acting

Respondents were asked to rate the extent to which they regulated their emotions with co-workers using two emotion regulation strategies, namely “surface acting” and “deep acting”. They were also asked about the benefits of engaging in these strategies towards their co-workers.

When you feel one emotion but try to express another, you’re surface acting. Imagine you arrive at work frustrated after a bad commute. You might fake a smile to a colleague while you’re grabbing a morning cup of coffee although you’re still not feeling particularly positive.

When you’re deep you try to change how you feel internally hoping that you can genuinely show more positive emotions. After your frustrating commute, you might reappraise what’s good about your day and what you like about your work to help you put on a smile. For example, “I feel grateful to have made it here on time and am excited to see my team.”
The results indicated that people who engaged in high amounts of deep acting paired with low amounts of surface acting reaped the greatest benefits. These people felt better at work, reporting lower levels of fatigue. 

They also reported productivity-related benefits such as receiving more help from their co-workers, both personal help (for example, having someone listen to their problems) and task help (having added assistance when workloads were too much). Colleagues seem to notice their efforts to be positive and reward them materially. Because of the help they received, deep actors also reported improved progress on their work goals and higher levels of trust with their co-workers.

What about surface actors? Interestingly, the study didn’t reveal a set of people who relied more on surface acting than deep acting. That may be because people interact with their co-workers fairly regularly, which would mean they would have to be faking a lot of the time. 

A group of people who showed both high levels of surface acting and high levels of deep acting, a group we called “regulators”, was found. Although they were deep acting, those people had a less rosy experience. In addition to feeling burnt out (possibly because they were not being genuine) and more inauthentic (likely because of the surface acting), they reported receiving less support from the people they worked with.

Why put on a smile?

We also wanted to understand why employees choose to be positive with their co-workers to begin with, given that there are no formal rules dictating that they do so. Did it have something to do with their interpersonal relationships or with their work ambitions?

It was found that the underlying reason was different depending on how the individual chose to manage their emotions. Deep actors were more likely to say that they were being positive for pro-social reasons because they liked their co-workers and valued their relationships with them. 
Regulators, on the other hand, tended to control their emotions for impression management to avoid looking bad or to try to get ahead at work. It is perhaps unsurprising that deep actors’ colleagues were more willing to offer help and support.

Based on the results, it is clear that being positive through genuine attempts to feel better offers more benefits compared to simply faking your emotions. 
The next time you feel a bad mood coming, take a step back and remember that having high-quality connections with your co-workers can be valuable to you and create a better work environment. Hopefully, that should help you break a true smile.

This article first appeared in Harvard Business Review.
How to tactfully disagree in a job interview

How to tactfully disagree in a job interview

When you are being interviewed for a job, you typically have one primary goal: impress the interviewer enough to get an offer. 

Often, we think that we need to be agreeable to succeed, which can lead to a lot of nodding on both sides, even if you don’t necessarily believe in what the interviewer is saying. 

This type of well-intended dishonesty may help you get the job, but it can lead to assumptions and misconceptions that grow and fester once you’re in the role.
To be successful in the long term, you should instead express your honest opinions during an interview, presenting yourself as you are, not someone you think the employer wants you to be. In fact, the most engaging interviews – for both sides – have some form of healthy disagreement that demonstrates the interviewee’s ability to be curious and collaborative. Rather than thinking of it as a conflict, approach it as a launching point for healthy discussion, debate and problem-solving. While simply saying “I disagree” will shut down further conversation, a response framed as “This is what I see (from the outside looking into your company) and this is what I’ve experienced (during my years specialising in this space)” invites discussion.

For instance, if the interviewer said the company always uses the waterfall method to develop software, but you believe agile is a better method because it allows changes to be made as the project is evolving, you might want to say: “It’s interesting that you’re using the waterfall method, but I find agile methodology to produce faster, more accurate and efficient.” Your counterpart’s reaction will speak volumes. If he or she said “That will never work here”, then you know what you might be up against if you get the role and want to make a change.

Of course, disagreeing with an interviewer isn’t always easy. There is an imbalance of power and you risk giving the impression that you’ll be difficult to work with. But you can navigate the potential downsides by doing a few things before, during and after the conversation.

Do your homework

It is important to understand ahead of time if the company culture is one where people are receptive to new ideas. Are the organisation and its founders known for inclusion and open-mindedness or do they have a slow-moving legacy mindset? Does the leadership team encourage open communication and innovation? Research the company. If you know someone at the company, ask them open-ended questions such as: “What do you like about this company and what areas could be improved?” Their answers might help you have a better feel for the firm’s inner workings.

Give yourself space to think

During the interview, if the interviewer states something or asks a question that gives you pause, resist the urge to answer immediately. Instead, take a moment to gather your thoughts to help you give a thoughtful reply. To buy yourself that time, you might say something like: “That’s an interesting point of view. Let me think about it for a moment.” This demonstrates that you are able to think critically and problem-solve. Instead of eagerly filling the air with whatever first comes to your mind, you will be able to give a more finely crafted response.

Ask permission to speak candidly

Whenever you need to disagree with someone who has more power than you, it helps to prepare that person. The first time you want to push back on something, ask for permission to provide a different view. Say something such as: “I see this differently. May I share my perspective with you?” 
That kind of invitation is effective for two reasons. Firstly, it does not make the interviewer “wrong”. If you said: “I disagree” and stopped, it would probably put your interviewer on the defensive and shut down the conversation. But “I see this differently” opens the door for further discussion. 
Secondly, asking the question provokes curiosity on the interviewer. You are not forcing your opinion on them, rather you’re inviting them to consider it.

Trust your instincts

Of course, during the interview, you should follow your gut. If you think disagreeing won’t be received well, you might want to bite your tongue. Afterwards, consider how you feel about the overall experience. Are you excited and confident, defeated or emotionally drained? Those feelings can be a good indicator of what your days will be like at this organisation.
Consider the degree to which you felt comfortable disagreeing. From what you observed, are people at the company open to change? Are dissenting voices welcome? If the interview made you uncomfortable – if you felt dismissed or unheard – trust your instincts. Don’t try to reason yourself into accepting a position in which you will be diminished.
Remember that if expressing different opinions wasn’t welcomed in an interview, it probably won’t be encouraged once you’re part of the company. If you decide you’re not interested in working there, send a follow-up email thanking the interviewer for the opportunity and politely declining to proceed.
An interview is a two-way street. While the interviewers have what you want (a job) you also have what they need (skills and expertise). When you express your true opinions, you ensure that both sides know what they’re getting into.

This article first appeared in Harvard Business Review.

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