As an American. I'm so, so sorry. It's a plague over here. It's definitely a cultural thing. The ways the US functions at it's core demands it, in its hyper-competitive work landscape. Thankfully, a lot of Americans understand how fake it is and hate it, too. It tends to mostly present itself in more "successful" individuals in the States.
Oh no! The audacity to show your real emotions (or lack of them) among your coworkers!
Can't you just fake having a happy little life like all the other worker drones? We're a family here, and that means suffering for our sake.
Funny (sadly) enough, it's usually American contacts or colleagues that get annoying over it.
This while me, as a European, tend to get creeped the fuck out when they do this fake smiling all the time, especially when going out to eat.
As an American. I'm so, so sorry. It's a plague over here. It's definitely a cultural thing. The ways the US functions at it's core demands it, in its hyper-competitive work landscape. Thankfully, a lot of Americans understand how fake it is and hate it, too. It tends to mostly present itself in more "successful" individuals in the States.