What’s in a Name: How Non-Traditional Job Titles Shape Organizations

Abstract

Job titles are means of quickly explaining who you are and what you do in a way that is understood both within and outside of organizations. However, recent popularization of non-traditional job titles questions the value of job titles as categorization tools and status markers. Developing theory to guide understanding of the role of this emerging phenomenon, I explicate how these non-traditional job titles differ from one another in affective and cognitive social identity cues. In doing so, I distinguish between four types of titles: task-oriented, mastery-oriented, culture-oriented and prototype-oriented. I propose that non-traditional job titles shape organizations by attracting more homogenous applicants and engendering more subjective evaluations of culture fit for selection. Further, I identify a polarizing effect on employees such that non-traditional job titles can aid in positive identity construction for some individuals resulting in increased job satisfaction and extra-role behaviors, while for others, they may lead to burnout and turnover. As a whole, I contend that non-traditional job titles serve as a double edged sword – boosting motivation and creativity for self-selecting and company sanctioned employees yet potentially stifling traditionally productive employees and even abetting labor market discrimination.