Why Your Smile at Work Might Be a Lie: The Corporate Happiness Trap

Have you ever felt pressured to smile at work, even when you didn’t feel happy? This is not just a personal struggle but a widespread phenomenon linked to the rise of corporate happiness culture. Carl Cederström’s The Happiness Fantasy exposes how happiness has become a compulsory performance in many workplaces, where employees must manage their emotions as part of their job.

Consider the case of a Pret a Manger employee who was fired for not smiling authentically while greeting customers. This incident highlights how emotional labor—the effort to regulate and display appropriate emotions—is policed and enforced. Workers are expected to be cheerful, enthusiastic, and authentic, even when exhausted or stressed.

At the same time, precarious labor conditions exacerbate these pressures. Many workers face unstable hours, low pay, and intense digital surveillance. The rhetoric of empowerment and happiness often masks these realities, making it difficult to resist or critique the system. The demand to 'be happy' at work becomes another form of control, contributing to burnout and alienation.

This corporate happiness trap reveals a cruel paradox: happiness is mandated, yet the conditions under which it must be performed are often exploitative. Recognizing this dynamic is crucial for understanding modern work culture and advocating for healthier, more humane labor practices.

For anyone feeling the strain of forced positivity at work, this analysis offers validation and insight into the broader cultural forces at play.

References: Blinkist summary, Goodreads.