Serenity S. Lee

Rachel Arnett, Serenity Lee, Patricia Faison Hewlin (2026), A Curation Approach to Identity Management: The Costs of Combining Identity Expression and Suppression, Administrative Science Quarterly.

Abstract: Many organizations want to increase diversity among their workforce, but employees from marginalized groups consistently face uncertainty about how to navigate their identities at work, which can lead to high turnover among these employees. To highlight the unexpected ways in which such risks can arise for employees and organizations, we investigate the intrapersonal consequences of a curation approach to navigating social identities in the workplace. Curation involves frequent identity expression (integrating an identity into the workplace, such as discussing identity-based traditions) and frequent identity suppression (concealing aspects of an identity at work, such as hiding concerns about discrimination). Given that expression and suppression both have benefits and risks, combining these behaviors into a curation approach could be seen as a socially adept and professionally beneficial solution. However, focusing on the intrapersonal experiences of employees of color, we argue that, compared to primarily expressing or primarily suppressing a minority identity, curation is more psychologically detrimental to these employees. Combining expression and suppression fosters ambivalence—conflicting thoughts about whether one’s identity is a resource or a liability—which is psychologically aversive. In two surveys and an internal meta-analysis (of the two studies in the manuscript and a supplemental study reported in supplementary online materials), curation was associated with greater ambivalence and psychological strain, which, in turn, were associated with greater turnover intentions. While our core findings emerge with employees of color, we also provide exploratory evidence that the costs of curation extend to women. Our findings regarding curation reveal a previously unrecognized well-being risk for employees from marginalized groups and a retention risk for organizations. We offer recommendations for future research and practice to address the conditions that lead employees to engage in curation.

Lumumba Seegars, Serenity Lee, Erin Reid, Lakshmi Ramarajan (2025), Subordinating Humanism: How Colliding Beliefs about a Living Wage Shape Personal Fulfillment and “Professional-Class” Identities in Working-Class Jobs, Academy of Management Journal, 68 (5), pp. 939-970. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2023.1289

Abstract: In a society dominated by market-based ideology and management practices that prioritize financial considerations, some organizations are shifting toward humanistic ideology and practices that emphasize human welfare. To examine this transformation in pay-setting, we studied a U.S. company that introduced a living wage for its low-wage workers. Interviews with 64 participants across two sites revealed both intended and unintended effects. Motivated by humanistic aims, the living wage was designed to reduce financial insecurity; indeed, workers felt more financially secure and fulfilled in their personal lives. However, its humanistic intent conflicted with the dominant market-based ideology linking wages to performance, raising concerns about whether these workers deserved higher pay. To resolve this tension, managers and workers altered expectations for workers to reflect two aspects of professional-class roles: autonomy and overwork. As workers internalized these expectations, they adopted elements of professional-class identities while remaining in working-class jobs. Simultaneously, managers reaffirmed their own role identities as shapers of performance despite their weakened control over wages. These findings inform a multilevel model conceptualizing how a transformative humanistic practice can be subordinated to market-based ideology through identity work. We contribute to research on humanistic management and the interconnections between wage, class, work roles, and identity.

Nancy Rothbard, Lakshmi Ramarajan, Ariane Ollier-Malaterre, Serenity Lee (2022), OMG! My Boss Just Friended Me: How Evaluations of Colleagues’ Disclosure, Gender, and Rank Shape Personal/Professional Boundary Blurring Online, Academy of Management Journal, 65 (1), pp. 35-65. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2018.0755

Abstract: We propose and test a relational boundary blurring framework, examining how employees’ evaluations of colleagues’ characteristics drive their decisions to connect with colleagues as friends online. We use a multi-method approach across four studies to investigate how self-disclosure of personal information, gender, and (a)symmetric rank shape warmth evaluations of colleagues and subsequent boundary blurring decisions on online social networks such as Facebook. Study 1, a large archival study using a nationally representative sample, shows that connecting as friends with colleagues online is prevalent. Study 2, examining employees across several industries, shows that people experience connecting as friends with colleagues online as boundary blurring. Two experimental studies show that employees are more likely to connect as friends online with colleagues who engage in more (rather than less) self-disclosure and are less likely to connect with bosses (rather than peers). Further, self-disclosure, gender, and rank interact such that employees are more likely to connect with female bosses who disclose more compared to those who disclose less and compared to male bosses, regardless of self-disclosure. Our work contributes to boundary management research by demonstrating that employees’ decisions to blur the personal/professional boundary online crucially depends on whom they are blurring the boundary with.

Courtney McCluney, Myles Durkee, Richard Smith, Kathrina Robotham, Serenity Lee (2021), To be, or not to be… Black: The effects of racial codeswitching on perceived professionalism in the workplace, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 97 (). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2021.104199

Abstract: Black people engage in a variety of behaviors to avoid stereotyping and promote a professional image in the workplace. Racial codeswitching is one impression management strategy where Black people adjust their self-presentation to receive desirable outcomes (e.g., perceived professionalism) through mirroring the norms, behaviors, and attributes of the dominant group (i.e., White people) in specific contexts. In this study, we examine whether racial codeswitching enhances perceived professionalism for Black employees. We investigate Black and White participants' perceptions of racial codeswitching and subsequent evaluations of professionalism through manipulating three behaviors (e.g., adjusting style of speech, name selection, hairstyle) of a fictitious Black coworker in two, between-subjects experimental studies using audio and written stimuli. Results indicate that employees who engage in racial codeswitching are consistently perceived as more professional by both Black and White participants compared to employees who do not codeswitch (Studies 1 & 2). We also found that Black participants perceive the non-codeswitching employee as more professional than White participants (Studies 2a & 2b). Black and White participants' evaluation of specific codeswitching behaviors varied with both groups supporting adjustment of speech, opposing adjusting one's name, and diverging on wearing natural hairstyles (Studies 1 & 2). Although racial codeswitching is presented as an impression management strategy, it may reinforce White professional standards and generate social and psychological costs for Black employees. Implications of our work for impression management and impression formation are further discussed.

Courtney McCluney, Kathrina Robotham, Serenity Lee, Richard Smith, Myles Durkee, The Costs of Code-Switching in Harvard Business Review,.

Abstract: The behavior is necessary for advancement — but it takes a great psychological toll.