Status: Medical study
New research by
Dr. Dieter Zapf of Frankfurt University suggests that workers who constantly have to pretend to be friendly to customers suffer from higher rates of depression and illness.
The Advertiser reports:
Flight attendants, sales personnel and call centre operators are most at risk, say psychologists at Frankfurt University. People in these jobs are more likely to suffer from depression, according to the study released yesterday ahead of publication in consumer magazine Good Advice. "Every time a person is forced to repress his true feelings, there are negative consequences for his health," said Professor Dieter Zapf, a researcher into human emotions.
I'm a little surprised that it was a German professor who did this study, because it's my subjective impression that fake happy workers seem to be more of an American phenomenon than a European one. American waiters, for instance, always want to act as if they're your new best friend, whereas European waiters tend to be a little more formal in how they interact with diners. Though maybe this is changing.
Comments
I am highly envious of his name, though. From now on, just call me "Dr. Dieter Zapf."
Maybe they knew we'd get depressed. I can attest to it though. Although, I'm less depressed from having to sound peppy all the time (which is really just annoying)...and more depressed about what I have to deal with on the phone...death, injuries...etc. Plus, it's very repetetive. You literally say the same thing over & over again all day long.
😊
I'm going off to weep uncontrollably over the sham that is my life!!
Try the unemployment office for a good source of these. Or, based on my last (and I do mean LAST) experiences with them, Continental Airlines employees.
I'd agree that the biggest problem is likely to be that all the jobs cited seem to be shitty jobs per se. OTOH, I can easily believe that real fake-smilery could be pretty depressing - though maybe it would not be so bad if you could 'fake' a 'genuine' smile (like the actors in the Eye and I project). Would be difficult to test, though:)
So I don't think customer service in Europe is gonna change any time soon. Next time some American tourist complains about their surly waiter, the Germans will just reply that being friendly to customers is bad for their health.
I APOLOGIZE IF I HAVE BEEN TO BLUNT, BUT HEY THAT IS WHERE I AM RIGHT NOW IN MY LIFE AND IT'S ABOUT TIME TO BE REAL FOR ONCE! TAKE CARE 😊
NONE of my smiles are real (hardly)
And I'm trying to be nice to people that I don't know.
From now on I won't. I'll be this horrible, stone, boring person that secretely wants to not be there. Because that's my true feelings
Sheeesh...
That's one article that changed MY life.
I have to concede that there is some truth in the study revelation that fake Smiles may cause depression. When you are not showing what you really felt, that could affect both your health and your mental state as well. This can lead to depression. If you want to know more about depression and its treatments, you can visit http://www.pillwatch.com/theme/depression.html. I have found this site to be very useful personally.
Coming back to our topic, I would like to say one more thing. Smiling is a way to show that we like some other's company or you are happy to serve somebody. In some occasions, smiling is customary, like for example, when you are with your friends and somebody says a joke and everybody else smiles. By not smiling on such occasions, you are insulting others actually. This could affect your relationship with others. So, my view is not to smile unnecessarily than completely eliminate fake smiles from one's way of behaving.
Thanks.
I do understand that concept,because as you are fake smiling,what other thoughts are running through your Mind???Depending on thoughts attached to them there is an emotion and feeling about the situation.In my experience the more you do this,the more it imprint's,this pattern ,to the deepest part of the mind,and the only way to change this is better question with in your own self talk,and to change your beliefs,towards it.I is simple what the heart feels the mind will see..at mindmotivations.com,the programs there allow the deepest part of the mind to be accessed and the issues to be resolved,naturally and easily.