Current knowledge on organizational humanness and its relation to leadership: A scoping review

Abstract

The aim of this study is to provide an overview of the available body of knowledge on organizational humanness, and its relation with leadership behavior. We discuss three related concepts that were found in this review: organizational dehumanization, objectification, and organizational humanization, and present how they have been measured. The results of this review show that most studies concern the absence of humanness in organization, that is, organizational dehumanization or objectification, and measures therefore have a corresponding focus on the absence of humanness as well. Accordingly, the available literature on the relation between leadership and (de)humanization seems mostly focused on the absence of humanness. We emphasize the necessity of studying experienced humanness in organizations and the importance of clarifying the leadership behavior that can support and increase experienced humanness.