What Are You Smiling About? Cheerful Women Don’t Get Ahead At Work

Happiness: You may be doing it wrong. If you're so fulfilled that you just let your sunshine-y personality ooze out onto the desks of your coworkers, don't expect a promotion any time soon. According to research undertaken at the Technische Universitat Munchen in Germany, a cheery disposition is not considered a leadership quality in women.

Yes, you should be personable and good at networking, but it might not be enough, and too much of those qualities could be a hindrance. Of course, as faculty member Isabell Welpe said in a press release, there are certainly other biases at play here: “Leaders should be assertive, dominant and hard-lined; women are seen as mediators, friendly, social,” she explained. Indeed, when asked to comment on a number of scenarios featuring work delegated by a boss, participants said they expected better performance by the workers when a man was in charge, overall. Furthermore, when the leaders in the scenarios failed to delegate when they should have, women showed a bias against their own gender.

Around here, we find that the most successful women are the ones who make work feel like fun — and that involves a lot of cheeriness. We have to wonder if the results of this study apply more to a male-dominated work environment. And while assertiveness and the ability to demonstrate your authority are obviously essential qualities for a leader, isn't everyone happier if the boss is in a good mood? (NY Daily News)