Maybe youâve done this; Carefully picking and choosing which emotions to express to whom, mindfully striking the perfect balance of collaborative, kind, and optimistic.
Itâs called emotional acting. Emotional acting is a phrase coined by Wharton professor Adam Grant. Itâs when you put on a persona and you fake it, in a lot of interactions, all the time.
Emotional acting is (unfortunately) very common in customer service. Itâs also common in conflict-avoidant organizational cultures, with unfamiliar people, and in virtual environments.
Itâs physically, intellectually, and emotionally draining. To be clear, we all have times when we should be carefully managing our emotions, like calming ourselves after some negative feedback or trying to have a good attitude in the face of a disruptive change.