Experiencing inauthenticity at work increases cynicism toward the employing organization

What is it about?

Experiencing inauthenticity at the workplace increases people’s cynical thoughts, feelings and behaviors toward the employing organization regardless of the cause of inauthenticity. This is because most people believe they have a true self and their tue self is good and moral. Inauthenticity makes people feel morally inadequate. To protect their positive sense of self, they are likely to attribute the sense of moral inadequacy felt at work to an incongruence between personal and organization value and, in turn, derogate the organization’s values.

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Why is it important?

This work suggests that not only does individuals’ assessment of their organization shape their sense of self, individuals’ sense of self also reciprocally shapes their assessment of the organization. Inauthenticity is the product of an inward-looking process. Organizational cynicism is a set of thoughts, feelings and behaviors that have outward influence on the organization’s moral legitimacy. Regardless of whether it is caused by organization conformity, through shaping the organization's moral legitimacy in public discourse, inauthenticity can affect the organization's very existence. This work also suggests that organizational cynicism is a coping mechanism individuals employ against a thwarted psychological need, the need to feel that one is behaving according to one's true self, or the need to feel morally and adaptively adequate.