While authenticity at work can build trust among co-workers, it has its limits, according to Laura Small, vice president and people director at Rubin Postaer and Associates. In today’s less formal work environment, the line between informal and formal behavior in the workplace can get blurred, leading to unacceptable self-expression, she warned in a 2018 op-ed for HR Dive. “We’ve bent over backwards to encourage authenticity, and had that invitation abused by employees who are either too inexperienced or too unprofessional to know how to manage it,” she said.
