Description
Authenticity is a historically moral issue with philosophical implications; however, current research focuses on practical outcomes. I discuss what constitutes authenticity, workplace situations that challenge it, and one type of workplace that encourages it. I draw parallels between this workplace climate of authenticity and a type of person-environment fit, called social fit, outlined in the State Authenticity as Fit to Environment (SAFE) model. I further discuss consequences of social fit for one’s approach or avoidance in relation to their environment and operationally define approach and avoidance behaviors in the workplace. I hypothesized that a climate of authenticity would have a) a positive relationship with work- approach behaviors (employee engagement and organizational attachment), and b) a negative relationship with work-avoidance behaviors (work withdrawal and turnover intentions). All 67 participants were healthcare workers ages 20-62 at a children’s hospital in the U.S. who were invited to complete an anonymous survey. Surveys were completed during work hours, and participants were not otherwise compensated. Measures included previously published scales of climate of authenticity, employee engagement, organization attachment, work withdrawal, and turnover intentions. I examined the measurement of my constructs, tested the assumption of independence by calculating an ICC(1) with respondents’ workgroup as a predictor of each hypothesis’ outcome, and tested hypotheses by measuring bivariate Pearson correlations. Climate of authenticity and employee engagement varied by workgroup, and there was evidence of a positive association between, a) an individual’s perception of a climate of authenticity and their emotional authenticity and, b) emotional authenticity and organizational attachment. There was no evidence of associations for other hypotheses. Exploratory analyses revealed evidence of a significant association between climate of authenticity and each outcome. The mixed results are discussed in relation to the SAFE model and context of the healthcare environment. Viability of the SAFE model in the organizational sciences and avenues for future research are discussed. Exploratory analyses showed climate of authenticity was associated with positive work-related outcomes, implying that efforts to improve climate of authenticity may be beneficial. Keywords: SAFE model, climate of authenticity, social fit, state authenticity, emotional authenticity, employee engagement, organizational attachment, work withdrawal, turnover intention
