Should you fake compassion to get ahead?

It can be hard to empathize with others. But, not doing so can make you look heartless and rude to those around you. And it could keep you from advancing in your career.

Research shows that acting out positive feelings can make you happier and more productive. But how about faking it?

"Many of us say what needs to be said to get the job done. But does that make us inauthentic, or worse, liars?," asks Alina Dizik in her story on the subject. "In the workplace, many of us have glossed over tricky topics to keep from embarrassing others, or pretended to care about something when we didn’t. In fact, mastering this behaviour can be a valuable skill – if used sparingly.... There are times when it pays to come across as caring and compassionate, even if you don’t feel genuine about it."

(Faking it helps only yo a point...)

I get it. And I'm sure I've done it, even though I naturally tend to be more compassionate and empathetic than a lot of my peers. But, what happened to the argument that being authentic is key to success? If your authentic self isn't so desirable, wouldn't it be better to work on that, rather than your acting skills?

Bingo. It turns out the people around you can differentiate between real and fake emotions and actions.

“Disingenuous expressions of empathy are easily picked up by people,” Monica Worline, a research scientist at Stanford University’s Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education in California, told Dizik. ‘It’s harder to fake it than you might think.” The result of faking emotions is having colleagues who may not trust you again in other parts of the job, she adds."

And there's the rub. At work and in life we've got all sorts of competing personality traits that are said to help us succeed. If people don't trust you, the other traits and people skills are barely worth developing. It seems, then, rather than faking it, learning real ways to care about others--in a genuine manner--would be the better route.

(Science says we also have to be warm and genuine if we want to build trust.)

Says David Whiteside, a happiness research fellow at Plasticity Labs in the story: “It’s about building the ability to take on someone else’s perspective.” I'd bet doing that would help people well beyond the cubicle.

What do you think? Should people fake empathy and compassion. Do you consider these skills to be learned in order for people to succeed in today's workplace?