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This study investigates creating facades of conformity (i.e., suppressing personal values and pretending to embrace organizational values) as a coping strategy associated with perceived job insecurity in workplace. In two survey-based studies, we examined the conditions under which such a strategy is more likely, and the consequences of its use. The results show in Study 1 (N = 404) and in Study 2 (N = 622) that facades of conformity, although employed as an agentic response to protect one's status, is paradoxically associated with negative employee outcomes including increased intention to leave and reduced affective commitment. Furthermore, the results show that age attenuates the relationship between perceived job insecurity and facades of conformity, such that older workers are less likely than younger workers to engage in facades under higher job insecurity. Our research contributes to theory on job insecurity, authenticity, and lifespan development. Managerial implications are discussed.
Practitioner points The current study found that employees who feel their job security threatened were more likely to suppress personal values and pretend to embrace organizational values, and such responses were linked to their intention to leave and reduced affective commitment.
The results from this study highlight the importance of fostering organizational environments that encourage authenticity such that members are not compelled to suppress personal values and pretend to embrace organizational values in job-insecure environments.
The results also highlight how employees will enact their careers at different stages of their lives. In job-insecure environments, older workers are more likely than younger workers to express divergent points of view.
