Fake Smile at the Office Could be Hazardous to Your Health

I feel like I just uncovered a classified document in the Wiki Files. Why isnt this in my employee manual, and why arent we having immediate corporate meetings to change our current understanding of "fake it to make it?"

A recent study published  in the Academy of Management Journal could change the way we think of "service with a smile."

Scientists analyzed a group of bus drivers that are required to have frequent and generally nice interactions with people during their day at work. After following closely, the scientists found that if a worker was forced to smile, they withdrew from work and their production at work suffered. The workers, when having to supress their negative thoughts, had even more negative thoughts on a more consistent basis during work. 

The good news is that on days that the workers smiled because they were truly happy, their moods improved and their productivity increased.

Management related topics - especially ones that make others happy - intrigues me. I want to know how to make my employees happy, and in return making the customer happy. Making the customer happy makes your business grow, and there goes the circle of business life as we know it.

It always confused me why one would fake smile, especially women, like it is a contest. After further research on smiles and overly enthusiastic behavior, I found the definition of Suzy Homemaker. You might know her as many things. Some think of Suzy Homemaker as a role model or a suburban goddess. Some think that Suzy was a 1960's character that went out of style. You can find the official definition at www.dictionary.com.

Suzy Homemaker : n. - a housewife who manages a household, esp. with enthusiasm; also, the sterotype of any woman who chooses a traditional female role

 Whether you are the employer or the employee service with a smile is a great business motto. Look deep within yourself and find that happy place. Effort to find your own 'Peter Pan' moment of happiness is a joint effort. A smile not only makes you happy but the people around you and  that should be shared by employer and employee because of the benefits it gives each person. Benefits of production and happiness can only be shared if the smile is cultivated by pleasant thoughts and memories.

I have learned so much from researching and watching employees simply smile locally in Carrollwood. A true hearted smile can light up a room like a Christmas tree but a fake smile can darken the brightest room.

What can you do to make a true smile come to you?