The Effect of Conformism on Organizational Alienation

Conformism, which describes people who identify with others in their work life, conform to others to avoid conflicts in the natural flow of work life, and do not object, generally describes individuals who exhibit characteristics of followers rather than leaders. Conformism, as explained by the concept of social influence, describes individuals who behave differently in the presence of others than when alone, thereby revealing their behavioral patterns. The concept of organizational alienation, on the other hand, is expressed when individuals in the workplace see or feel themselves as tools to fulfill their managers' performance expectations, leading them to distance themselves from the organization and feel isolated. In this context, the main objective of the study is to examine the effect of conformity on organizational alienation. The study used a cross-sectional research design and a convenience sampling technique from quantitative research methods. The research was conducted with the participation of 155 white-collar workers. During the study's analysis phase, participants' data were analyzed using SPSS, and a regression analysis was conducted to assess the effect of conformity on organizational alienation. The analysis revealed that conformity has a positive effect on organizational alienation and its subdimensions, except for powerlessness. This study is particularly important because it reveals that the conformist (compliant) behavior of employees involved in management or management-related processes at the organizational level affects organizational alienation. Thus, the research shows that employees' conformist behavior in their work life may cause them to experience a sense of alienation towards the organization over time.