Being yourself at work is not good for your career, study claims
Honesty is often said to be the best policy in social situations but being yourself at work is not a good idea for your career, research suggests.
While revealing your true character to a partner or friends is likely to make you happier, experts claim doing so at the office is not a recipe for promotion.
Scientists assessed levels of "authentic self expression" in 533 volunteers to see how far they opened up to people they interacted with socially.
The results showed that participants were more likely to "be themselves" with partners, followed by friends and then parents. However, they were much less likely to show their true self to work colleagues.
Those who opened up to their partners tended to have greater well-being and were more satisfied with life. But the same benefits were not seen from being authentic at work.
Dr Oliver Robinson, from the University of Greenwich in London, said: "You hear self-help gurus say that the secret of happiness is 'being yourself' or 'expressing your true feelings', but that doesn't seem to apply in the workplace.
"So in some circumstances, it may be that a polite smile or tactfully keeping quiet may be more conducive to your well-being than saying what you actually think and feel to work colleagues."
The results were presented at the annual meeting of the British Psychological Society, taking place in London.
人們常說誠實是處世的最佳策略，然而研究顯示，在職場中做真實的自己並不利於你的事業發展。
儘管向伴侶或朋友展現自己的真實個性會讓你過得更開心，但專家稱，在辦公室這麼做可不是晉陞的良方。
科學家評估了533名志願者的“真我表達”水準，看他們在社交中對他人的開放程度。
結果顯示，參與者和伴侶在一起更能“做真實的自己”，其次是和朋友在一起，再次是父母。然而，他們卻不大會向同事展示真實的自我。
那些對伴侶敞開心扉的人通常更幸福，對生活更滿足。但是在職場中坦誠相對卻沒有同樣的回報。
來自倫敦格林威治大學的奧利佛?羅賓森博士說：“你聽那些自我激勵大師說幸福的秘訣就是‘做你自己’或‘表達你的真實感受’，但是這些似乎在職場行不通。
“在某些情況下，也許一個禮貌的微笑或機智地保持沉默而不是對同事說出你的真實想法和感受更有利於你的幸福。”
在倫敦舉行的英國心理學會年會上展示了這一研究結果。
