Negotiating Authenticity: How Control over One’s Authentic Expression May Matter as Much as the Absolute Level of Authenticity

The desire for authenticity in the workplace is ubiquitous, such that it seems intuitive to think that more authenticity is better. We challenge this assumption by recognizing the limited body of work that has acknowledged individuals differ in their desired authenticity, and propose that authenticity in the workplace may be productively considered a negotiation over control. Specifically, we argue that individuals desire to control both the process and outcomes of negotiations about their authenticity, and that control may matter more than previously considered in terms of employees’ well-being and satisfaction with how authentic they are at work. This reframing of authenticity as a negotiation over control suggests several exciting implications for future work and practical implications for organizations.