This paper aims to test a moderated mediation model linking person-environment fit with workplace outcomes (engagement, meaning at work and performance) through authenticity (authentic living and self-alienation). Self-deception was included as a moderator of these relationships.
Data were collected from 163 employees in a large department using an online survey. The hypotheses were tested using the PROCESS Macro for SPSS, which conducts bootstrapped moderated mediation analyses.
Results showed that person-environment fit facets were positively related to engagement, meaning and performance through authentic living and negatively related through self-alienation. These relationships were significant at low to moderate levels of self-deception.
Despite its small sample size, this study used a time-lagged design to mitigate the limitations associated with cross-sectional studies. Further, it expanded the research on authenticity in the workplace by illustrating the interplay of authenticity with fit, self-deception and workplace outcomes.
Organisations stand to gain from encouraging authenticity at work, and this can be achieved by ensuring person-environment fit. While self-deception can act as a protective factor against low perceptions of person-environment fit, organisations should strive to create a culture that values diversity and self-expression.
This study is among the first to explore authenticity at work and the first to empirically examine the authenticity and person-environment fit relationship in relation to outcomes, considering individual propensity for motivated bias.
