Why You Should Be Your True, Authentic Self at Work

By Hannah Whitesides, Retreat Leader & Fear Management Specialist for our Company Virtual Retreats

From Dreams, by Gemma Curtis

Let’s break your life down into numbers. The average person’s lifespan is about 79 years. Within that time frame, we will spend 26 years sleeping, 7 years trying to go to sleep, 13 years working plus 1 year of overtime, 11 years screen time (tv, social media, etc), 4 years eating, 3 years traveling, 1 year exercising, 1 year for romance, and 1 year socializing. That’s a total of 68 years which means we have 11 years left and so much more that we do in life. 

Now let's think about it just in terms of work and sleep. If we add those together, that is a total of 47 years. That only leaves 32 years. 

Why are these numbers important? They’re important because we need to realize how much of our lives are spent filtering our authenticity. When we’re sleeping, we’re recharging so that we have the energy and capability to take on the next day’s responsibilities which means that we aren’t able to express our true selves during this huge chunk of our lives. The next biggest chunk of our lives is spent at work where most people hide their true selves behind a mask. 

Why do we do this? We tend to filter our authenticity because of fear. Filtering ourselves might feel appropriate in the moment but it’s hurting us. 14 years of our lives are spent at work and as someone who expresses my true self at work here’s why you should take off your mask: 

You will contribute more.

Allowing yourself to be your genuine self, you will help strengthen your team by providing your unfiltered ideas. 

It builds trust and relationships.

Everyone knows when someone is being inauthentic. It may not be that the person is being condescending or fake, it just might be that the person is holding back their personality and unfiltered voice. Just like that, it’s easy to tell when someone is being themselves. This is the easiest way to build trust and strengthen those relationships. Enhancing work connections allows you to be more comfortable at work and with co-workers and reduces fears regarding job security.

It’s good for everyone. 

Through research and evaluations, Toon Taris, PhD, a professor at Utrecht University explained that “People who are authentic at work are considerably happier, more satisfied, and less stressed. And happy workers get more done: Researchers have found that even a temporary boost in mood can increase productivity by around 12 percent. People who feel authentic in their workplaces are also more intrinsically motivated to do their jobs, which can help bosses, too—there’s less need to micromanage.”

You will feel happier, comfortable, and confident. 

To put it simply, I feel happier, comfortable, and confident at work. I have a better sense of my true, individual identity because I don’t have to divide my time between being who I am and adopting the personality of a stranger. 

It’s 14 years of your life, how will you spend them? 

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Article Photo by Alex Iby on Unsplash

Project Passport is a proactive mental wellness company that aims to bring mental wellness retreats, workshops and other services to company teams. We also help women create joy in their lives every step of the way. To learn more about our company retreats and services, click here. To learn more about our tribe community for women, click here. Our travel retreats will resume in the future as the world reopens.