> Also, I'm German, where all this US "be nice and smile all the time" thing seems at best naive, but also a form of torture and company overreach to try to emo

> Also, I'm German, where all this US "be nice and smile all the time" thing seems at best naive, but also a form of torture and company overreach to try to emotion control employees into this drugged up alice in wonderland facade. In my experience, the required performative cheeriness is a feature of newer companies that have over-hired. I’ve worked with several US companies with established international presence where being direct and honest was the expectation. I’ve also worked at smaller startups where toxic positivity was basically company policy. I’ve been reprimanded for my tone not being positive enough in a meeting where we were discussing a serious and urgent issue. I’ve had an employee who couldn’t handle even the slightest bit of feedback that wasn’t glowingly positive. These experiences were rare, though, and they were all associated with companies that had hired a lot of middle managers with vague directives who had little to do other than attend meetings and cheerlead. In each case it was a sign that the company valued perceptions more than reality, and it led to poor company performance. Step outside of those companies, though, and it’s common for moderately high pressure environments with blunt, direct feedback. I’ve also had several outright abusive bosses who would disparage me personally, threaten firing at the slightest issue, and one CEO who even fired people on the spot if he was in a bad mood. The US doesn’t have a uniform work culture.