When you're at work, are you a professional or a person? You'd probably like to think you're both—we know we'd like to think so—but what you've likely been taught about professionalism may sometimes feel incompatible with being fully yourself. The result for some can be a whole host of behaviors that boil down to hiding aspects of who one is and what one is experiencing in life. Some people act confident or speak with certainty when they're unsure. Others bury their emotions or smile through pain. Some might cover up mistakes, or hide illnesses and pregnancies, looming divorces, and family tragedies. People may pretend to be extroverted even if they're introverted, or say what they think is expected rather than what they really think. Sometimes people tone down their personal style or alter how they speak, pretend things don't matter, even when they do, or pretend to care about things when they don't. When asked how they are, even if they're not so good, people usually respond with, “I'm great, thanks, how are you?”
It seems many people may think succeeding at work precludes being their fully human selves. And yet, this kind of pretending, hiding, and covering can have all kinds of negative impacts on the quality of relationships, on levels of engagement and commitment, ...
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