Examining workers’ self-objectification through the lens of social identity: The role of ethical climate and organizational identification

Self-objectification at the workplace is the employees’ perception of being less human and more instrument-like. We explored whether perceived ethical climate – the shared perceptions of how the organization deals with ethical issues – represents an antecedent of self-objectification, in the light of the social identity approach. In a correlational study (N =239), we found that an ethical climate of collectivism and interdependence (i.e., friendship) reduced self-objectification, via higher levels of organizational identification; the opposite emerged with regards to an ethical climate of individualism and independence (i.e., self-interest). Results are discussed in terms of workers’ wellbeing and organizational policies.