Abstract

This study contributes rare findings concerning the changing nature of employee language and behavior on the front stage. Little empirical research presents front-stage displays when employees across various membership groups consistently enact alignment to an organization’s managerial ideology and prescriptive culture. Guided by an interpretative framework, this study examined the integrationist perspective of culture. Seventy-four qualitative interviews were conducted in combination with ethnographic methods within a public sector agency based in New South Wales (Australia). Thematic analysis revealed front-stage displays reflecting employees’ alignment to the Service NSW customer-centric ideology promulgated by its “DNA” culture, showing that some employees were surface acting whereas others were deep acting. On the front stage, employees across the organization’s hierarchy reflected consistent presentations of the self despite being part of different departments. Employees displayed front-stage engaged, empowered, and authentic selves while, at times, it was shown that they were suppressing their true felt emotions and cognitions. By presenting a framework to identify language and behavioral changes on the front stage under the constraints of ideology and culture, researchers are provided with opportunities to observe, document, and interpret the self-conscious monitoring of their participants’ language and behavior, whereby a deeper exploration of employees’ subjective experiences is within reach.