Employee opens up about 'putting up a face' at work and many find it relatable: 'I’m exhausted'

The corporate world has certain expectations from the employees and one among those is to always put on a happy face. No matter how dissatisfied their employees are with their jobs or their workplace's culture, they are simply expected to smile during meetings and client interactions. This never-ending rat race may not be everyone's cup of tea. So, when u/Virtual_Clothes_5790 shared their disregard for this workplace expectation to be happy all the time, many could relate to it. Tired of this culture, the employee couldn't help but vent about it on the internet.

The worker started their post with a question that spoke of today's reality, "Anyone else tired of 'putting on the face' five days a week, 50 weeks a year?" They couldn't tolerate it anymore to put on a false facade and fake their happiness at work. "I feel like I have to fake being happy whenever I’m in a meeting with my team or my boss," they wrote. However, they were concerned that they were the only one to feel this way. "Everyone has this smirk on their face as if there aren’t millions of things they’d rather be doing than be packed in this conference room for the next hour or two together," the employee added.

We may think that this person has had a long experience of faking smiles at the workplace, but no, they just can't take any more of this phoniness. "I’ve only been in the corporate world for six years and I’m already totally sick of it. Even when I’m working remotely, I feel like I need to put on a fake happy face in our meetings in order to not stick out," they pointed out. The worker worried that they have been pushed to a point where they have no more interest in faking it. "If I appear deadpan all the time, so be it. I hate being disingenuous anyway, but it seems to be the norm (unless people actually like this job?). I’m exhausted," they wrote.

Hundreds of social media users commented saying how relevant this perspective was. "I was once asked to stay late on a Teams call with my manager when everyone else had signed off. She told me to stop looking so miserable during these calls. I was really just too tired to sit there and smile for two hours," said u/nefarious_angel_666. "This whole world forces us to put on a mask and pretend like the world is awesome. In reality, many of us are struggling to keep it together every day," remarked u/Ammllver4. "I got a stern talking-to in my half-year review about this exact thing - about how some days I'm just not as happy as others. Maybe because I'm not a robot and because I have actual emotions," added u/chicken_buttlet.

Speaking of faking happiness at work, a career expert revealed why people should never disclose their unhappiness to their boss. Dilara Casey (@totally_employable) a marketing and workforce expert spoke about the eye-opening reason why employees shouldn't reveal their unhappiness at work even when they are asked about it. "Too many times, I've seen this backfire with clients of mine," Casey said in a video. Since most managers are unqualified for their roles, they tend to eliminate workers who aren't happy at their jobs. "They're not going to change their style. They're not going to change their way. They're going to change the problem, which in their perspective is you," the career coach added.