As those who live in large cities know, they are always within 20ft of a rat’s nose (which is probably nonsense), HR professionals know that they are only a few hours from the latest buzzword.
What is “pleasanteeism”, in the workplace?
Personnel Today decided to use it to describe people who are extremely nice and friendly to everyone. These people are always welcome. I can imagine a pleasanteeist bringing little pots made in a pottery class to colleagues every month.
Our guesses turned out to be wrong. A HR expert spoke up to describe the phenomenon of pleasanteeism. He hasn’t said it is a TikTok phenomenon, which is often the case with new shiny trends.
David Rice, at People Managing People, starts off with some serious stuff. If you do not want to be reminded about the current state of affairs, then stop reading now.
He says, “Let’s get real.” The world has become a tougher place to live in the last decade. The list is endless, whether it’s due to the Covid Pandemic, Brexit or wars. It’s not easy to show up at work and put on a brave front when there are news about a cost-of-living crisis, wars, and general elections.
A colleague of Personnel Today immediately countered that it was a simple thing to do in terms of money, as they were saving to buy a bag artisanal chips.
David explains the signs. You don’t want to show any emotion at work. You apologize for showing signs of anxiety.
He continues: “A major factor in ‘pleasanteeism,’ is taking on additional work and saying yes to everything even when you are already at capacity. You take on extra work to avoid disappointing anyone and you don’t acknowledge that you are actually overworked.
It’s a common experience, but I’m not sure that some of us are viewed as “pleasant”, even when we do not have a lot to work.
David uses a recent buzzword to play his trump (now again an unfortunate term). “The Sunday scaries” is something that we all experience at the end a good weekend, he says. If you feel anxious before the beginning of each new week, you may be suffering from pleasanteeism.
Personnel Today doesn’t mix buzzwords, but we were curious if a person who suffers from Sunday scaries is not only feeling pleasanteeism but also a quiet quitter. This could turn into a loud quitter once the desire to be nice evaporates. Consult your “frolleagues”, or you may end up “quiet fired” (and that’s no pottery analogy). Buzzwords, eh? I smell a rat.
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