Employees are increasingly feeling that they cannot be themselves at work. The pressure to conform when it just doesn’t feel like the right thing to do. Having to maintain professional facades, and then suppressing genuine thoughts, ideas and feelings. The can create psychological strain and makes coming to work just feel wrong.
Cultural ratings declined by 3.1% in 2024, marking the lowest level of cultural satisfaction amongst UK employees (The Survey Initiative Employee Engagement 2024 Trends).
This lack of authenticity manifests in disengagement, reduced discretionary effort, and talent loss as people seek other places to work. Employees in the UK are feeling less connected to their organisations and less motivated to be productive.
82% of UK employees don’t trust their manager to tell the truth. This is a really stark indicator of the authenticity gap (People Insight UK Employee Engagement Statistics 2026). Leaders struggle to create psychologically safe environments where people feel comfortable being vulnerable, sharing ideas, or admitting mistakes. The result is a culture of performance rather than one of genuine contribution.
Using the Emotional Culture Deck cards, the teams could feel Uncomfortable, Unwelcome, Guarded, Doubt and Anxious.
At Collaborate, we work with leaders and teams to understand the implications of not being able to be truly authentic and use the following to support these conversations:
- Our BREAKING™ framework’s core focus on Authenticity helps individuals to articulate what being authentic means to them. It is not a one size fits all. Emotional Culture Deck supports emotional expression and creates space for honest conversations about workplace experiences
- Working on building talent and developing leaders. Enabling individuals to understand who they authentically are, rather than trying to mould them into generic leadership templates. Our programmes are bespoke to our clients needs, not off-the-shelf.
As a result, organisations come together to deliver authentic contribution.
When you reflect on the change emotionally, the teams could now feel Love, Secure, Unique, at Ease and Brave.
