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Hypothesis: There is no such thing as your "Authentic Self". Instead identity and behaviour is context specific.
Therefore brining your "Authentic Self" to work is a misnomer.
In fact, bringing your authentic self to work could massively backfire. Especially if you prioritise your own authenticity over others.
For instance we've all seen those people who are proud to say "I tell it how it is". They see themselves as being "authentic". Others see them as being difficult arseholes.
I mean, James Damore was being his "authentic self" when he sent round his gender memo at Google. It just turns out his authentic self wasn't especially pleasant or accepting of others.
I find the "authentic self at work" argument highly egotistical. It says you should accept me for who I am, even if I'm an arsehole.
In tech, you see this no more clearly than in the trend for (often Engineering) managers to write a README.TXT file for their staff, explaining how to best work with them. What this is effectively saying is "my authentic personality traits are now your problem to deal with"
So while I do agree that we should try and bring "more of ourselves to work", I think we should also "leave some of ourselves at home" in the realisation that it's not all about me, and we have to consider other people as well.
So rather than it being about "bringing your authentic self to work" maybe we should be "creating environments that bring out the best in people".
Just a thought.
Just a thought.
Here's an interesting article on how "bringing your authentic self to work" is easy for people with privilege, but a lot more risky for people from diverse backgrouns. https://www.forbes.com/sites/lbsbusinessstrategyreview/2019/04/01/time-to-rethink-bringing-your-whole-self-to-work/
"Research suggests that the more expressions of authenticity deviate from what the majority assumes is typical, the riskier they are. Majority group members whose ‘authentic’ behavior is closely aligned with the values of Western global businesses will experience little risk"
"Social psychologists have proposed that each of us has multiple ‘identities’ that are connected to the roles that we play. According to identity theory, when we are in situations that cue a particular identity we behave consistently with the demands of that identity."
