How to Encourage Authenticity at Work

But authenticity in the workplace can be easier said than done, especially for people from marginalized social groups. Black employees, for instance, still face bias and discrimination (notably in predominantly white organizations). Fear of social rejection or other forms of backlash present a dilemma for many of these employees: Should I risk bringing my true self to work—by wearing a natural hairstyle, for instance, or sharing my love of Black musicians? Or should I play it safe by downplaying this part of myself?

New research from Cynthia Wang, a clinical professor of management and organizations at Kellogg, proposes that Black employees’ hesitation to express their true selves is often rooted in uncertainty about how their coworkers will react.

Across a series of studies and interviews, Wang and her colleagues identified two factors that helped address this uncertainty and made Black employees feel more comfortable expressing their social identities at work. The first factor was working in an organization with a climate that fosters authenticity, allowing all employees to express their true selves. The second was perspective-taking—the practice of imagining the world from others’ viewpoints.

Wang believes that both employers and employees can benefit when companies promote authenticity and create opportunities for employees to better understand each other.

“These factors are critical pieces of the overall puzzle in understanding how to successfully manage diversity within the workplace,” she says. “They can foster organizational involvement and reduce turnover.”

Many efforts to better manage diversity in the workplace have focused on increasing the representation of minority groups or offering anti-bias training, Wang adds. Not enough attention has been paid to addressing employees’ uncertainty about bringing their authentic selves to work.

The root of social uncertainty

Wang knew from the start that she would need a mix of experimental studies and real-world examples to understand how uncertainty shapes the way employees, particularly those from marginalized groups, express their social identity at work.

To that end, she conducted a combination of surveys, experiments, and interviews with Black professionals working at predominantly white organizations. She collaborated with Gillian Ku of London Business School, Alexis Smith and Bryan Edwards of Oklahoma State University, Edward Scott of the University of Pennsylvania, and Adam Galinsky of Columbia University for the research.

In one study, the researchers asked Black accountants to rate the extent to which their organization’s work environment allowed them to be authentic. The accountants also rated how able they are to look at situations from other people’s perspective, how often they express their social identity at work, and how involved they are in their organization. Wang and colleagues found that accountants who took the perspective of their colleagues were more likely to positively express their social identity in work environments that encouraged them to be authentic.

The importance of workplace climate is hardly restricted to the field of accounting. In another study, Black employees across a wide range of industries who reported working in an environment that allowed them to be authentic were more likely to share their true selves at work.

Follow-up interviews suggested that when an organization promoted a climate of authenticity, employees felt more certain about how managers and colleagues might respond to employees’ social identity, which, in turn, encouraged them to be their true self at work.

In a final study, Wang and colleagues explored the effect of a perspective-taking exercise on employees’ willingness to be their true self. The researchers asked hundreds of Black employees to rate their organizations’ climate of authenticity as well as to describe a typical interaction with white coworkers. Half of the employees received an additional note encouraging them to “go through the interaction in their [coworkers’] shoes, as if you were them.”

Employees at organizations with a high authenticity rating who were encouraged to consider their coworkers’ perspective were the most likely to express their social identity at work. Interviews suggested that this was because these employees were best positioned to predict how their colleagues might respond, allowing them to identify the coworkers around whom they could behave authentically.

Collectively, the findings indicate that employees are more likely to feel comfortable expressing their true identity at work when their organization promotes authentic understanding among social groups and provides employees with opportunities to consider their coworkers’ perspective.

Authenticity climates for all

Wang offers a caveat to the findings. Though taking the time to consider their coworkers’ perspective can be helpful to Black employees, the onus shouldn’t be just on them to spend the extra time and effort it takes to do so.

“Perspective-taking can be a useful tool to help you navigate the work environment,” Wang says. “But people mentioned in our interviews that minorities are often the ones considering the perspectives of majority groups. So a balance is essential.”

As organizations grapple with how to bring more authenticity into their workplace, Wang suggests that it’s crucial to understand how this concept differs from the concept of “inclusion.”

“What we’re talking about is actual authenticity—the ability to express yourself—which is slightly different from the idea of inclusion,” Wang says. “You can include somebody in a meeting, for example, but they still may not feel comfortable with being authentic and speaking up.”

It’s important to remember, she adds, that truly authentic environments should be understood as such by all employees: “When everyone feels that comfortable discussing their differences and similarities, it allows for more open conversations and reduces this social uncertainty.”