Stop being ‘too nice’ at work, says psychologist: 'Overly positive feedback signals that you’re...'

If you're being too nice at work, there's a chance that over time, the person on the receiving end becomes distrustful of you, says social psychologist and New York University professor Tessa West. She believes that people need specific information that would actually help them improve their work, and being overly positive does more harm than good.

West told CNBC Make It that the problem starts with social discomfort. "Almost everyone will at some point find themselves in an interaction that makes them feel uncomfortable," she said. "Most of us take a simple approach to quelling the discomfort: We smile as hard as we can, laugh (even when nothing is funny), and bend over backwards to convince people: There’s nothing to worry about here. This interaction will be a positive one. I am nice. Maybe too nice?"

The psychologist added that the harder we try to use niceness to cover up our discomfort, the more people can see right through us.

"Humans are good at picking up on emotions, which leak out through our nonverbal behaviors, like tone of voice. We think we’re doing a good job of masking anxiety by layering on the compliments, but when those compliments are delivered through artificial smiles, no one is buying it," she told the publication.