How Employee Authenticity Shapes Work Attitudes and Behaviors: the Mediating Role of Psychological Capital and the Moderating Role of Leader Authenticity

Taking a resource perspective, we examined the relationships between employee authenticity and work attitudes/behaviors, focusing especially on the mediating role of psychological capital and the moderating role of leader authenticity. Data were collected with a three-wave survey administered to a sample of 588 employees from a biological manufacturing company in eastern China. Our results showed that employee authenticity can promote positive work attitudes/behaviors and inhibit negative ones among employees. The underlying mechanism is that employee authenticity can be converted into psychological capital, which is a positive psychological resource, and can further shape employee work attitudes and behaviors. Additionally, leader authenticity, as a job resource in the work environment, strengthens this conversion. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.