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STARBUCKS baristas have a new job requirement.

In addition to remembering to make your latte with no foam or your cortado with oat milk, they must also write a little missive on your cup. It is a directive that comes straight from chief executive Brian Niccol, who says the handwritten notes foster “moments of connection” – part of his strategy to get more customers into stores to turn around the faltering coffee giant.

In a memo he sent out in January detailing the plan, he had some ideas for those not sure what to say. They could scribble an affirmation (“you’re amazing”), share well wishes (“seize the day”) or simply write a customer’s name or draw a smiley face.

The underlying message to employees is this: It is not enough to manufacture a product for customers; they must also manufacture a feeling. And if Niccol cannot motivate workers to do so organically, he will decree it by edict.

It is not just Starbucks that has made trumped-up enthusiasm an expectation. Most companies are not going as far as the Japanese supermarket chain using an artificial intelligence (AI) system to evaluate and standardise its employees’ smiles, but the trend is clear.