UK 
United States
‘Pleasanteeism’ is on the rise across the UK, with three-quarters (75%) of workers now admitting to feeling like they have to put on a brave face in front of their colleagues, regardless of how they’re really feeling.
According to new research, released by health and wellbeing provider Lime Global, ‘pleasanteeism’ – a term coined to describe the pressure faced by workers to mask stress and mental health worries – is up by 24% from May 2021. Just over half (51%) of workers admitted to suffering from this phenomenon.
With more workers masking how they really feel than ever before, ‘pleasanteeism’ is having a significant impact on the productivity of UK businesses. Findings from the research revealed that over half (54%) of employees have taken time off work due to feeling like they have to put on a brave face.
In fact, on average, workers take 2.75 days off per year as a result of this brave face culture. Across the entire UK workforce, this could add up to as many as 67million days lost each year due to ‘pleasanteeism’ alone.
