A Danger of Manufactured Projections in the Workplace

I recently started a remote job. I haven’t had one in a while. There is a lot more riding on the survival security of a full-time position with benefits and a salary compared to a part-time serving job at a restaurant. As a person who does not like faking or acting to receive validation, I can tell the remote job requires I project a bit more falseness into the atmosphere to ensure employment security. I care a little bit more in this context if the people like me because the job means more to me. The danger of this? It convinces my emotions that I succeeded when I project and receive some level of confirmation that the person on the other end likes me, and thus I can relax. If I’m unaware this is the phenomena I am experiencing, that the validation is false and an expression of insecurity, I run the risk of becoming someone I am not.

Of course, it is on me to be confident. It is on me to know I can be my natural self in front of others, and risk the consequences. Consistency of this bravery across people over time is how we manifest into our true, authentic, and collective self. But can I truly do this without fear, without being a threat to my own security, within the confines of our present society? Can I risk not conforming? The answer should be yes. But with our present level of societal survival insecurity, the answer is often no. This is an argument for equality reform. Every individual should have a right to authentic expression to determine if a role is a good fit, and be able to do this without fear because…