Workers Have a Hard Time Being Truthful Around the Boss

iStock/Thinkstock(CHARLOTTE, N.C.) — There’s something about being around the boss that makes many workers often apprehensive about revealing their true thoughts or feelings.

As a result, a lot of people will pretend that everything is okay when it might not be, only because they worry if that they’re too candid, it could slow down their chances at career advancement.

University of North Carolina, Charlotte researchers tested this phenomenon by first surveying 150 people who routinely sat in on workplace meetings. The overall consensus was that people generally kept their genuine opinions under wraps whenever their direct boss or another higher-up was in the room.

Next, the researchers polled 80 workers at a construction firm, asking largely the same questions about their behavior during meetings. Again, most admitted that they said what they thought their bosses wanted to hear, largely to increase their opportunities to earn more money and get a promotion.

Interestingly, people who were supervisors said they’d prefer more honesty among their employees and colleagues.

Ironically, the study found that people who try to portray positive attitudes in meetings when their hearts aren’t really in it felt worse afterwards.

Another finding: when workers are in meetings with their peers or even those beneath them on the corporate ladder, they tend to express their real feelings about work and other matters.

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