Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relevance of authenticity as a possible attribute of employer attractiveness. Additionally, the study compares authenticity to other factors of attractiveness, such as economic, development, social, interest and application values.
Design/methodology/approach
A survey was conducted with a total of 937 respondents. The questionnaire consisted of the employer attractiveness scale developed by Berthon, Ewing, and Hah (2005) and an adapted version of the authentic living scale (Wood et al., 2008).
Findings
The results show that workplace authenticity is equally valued as an attractiveness attribute as having opportunities for economic and personal development, and that it is significantly more highly valued than other attractiveness dimensions of the work environment, such as interest value, social value, and application value. The results also show that authenticity matters more as an attribute of attractiveness for top management, older professionals as well as women.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that firms become more competitive in attracting talent if their recruitment strategies place more emphasis on authenticity as a psychological benefit that can be obtained through working in the company. The use of social media (e.g. employee testimonials, chats, and blogs) can help to this end.
Originality/value
The subject of workplace authenticity has been receiving increasing attention in the academic literature, and the studies reveal the benefits that it may entail for both developing and retaining a more engaged and productive workforce. However, previous research has not considered how perceptions of workplace authenticity may also help organizations become more attractive in the eyes of potential job applicants.
Purpose
– The idea of being authentic at work is gaining traction in both academia and organizations. The purpose of this paper is to test whether four types of perceived organizational culture (hierarchical, clan, market, and adhocracy) influence employees’ authenticity and whether behaving more authentically at work influences the extent to which employees are engaged with their jobs.
Design/methodology/approach
– The sample includes 208 professionals working in a variety of industries in Brazil. Hypotheses are tested using structural equation modeling.
Findings
– Results indicate that environments that are perceived to be more inclusive and participative, and that incentivize autonomy (i.e. clan and adhocracy cultures) neither nurture nor inhibit authenticity. On the other hand, cultures perceived to emphasize stability, order, and control (i.e. hierarchy and market cultures) are negatively related to authenticity. In addition, employees who behave more authentically at work are more engaged with their jobs. Authenticity at work also mediates the relationship between hierarchical and market cultures and work engagement.
Originality/value
– The authors address the call of Roberts et al. (2009) for more research associated with the role that the organizational context plays in the development of authenticity. With the focus on authenticity the authors broaden the range of work engagement antecedents already discussed in the literature (Christian et al., 2011).
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