Bisexual authenticity and job attitudes: The impact of seeing similar others at work

Abstract

Although great strides have been made to better understand the workplace experiences of bisexual individuals, there is much to still be learned. In the present study we build theory around the role of inauthenticity for bisexual employees and the downstream implications for job attitudes. Further, we investigate the impact of the presence of other identifiable bisexual people in the workplace on shaping these attitudes. Utilizing a sample of 304 bisexual employees, results support that those with greater self-alienation, a negative aspect of authenticity, held greater intentions to leave the organization through reduced affective commitment. However, when the participant reported a visible bisexual coworker, this negative impact was reduced; the visibility of the coworker acting as a buffer of the negative consequences of inauthenticity. Counter to expectations, this buffer was not significant for those who had a visible bisexual leader. These findings, along with theoretical and practical implications, and future research directions are discussed.