Linguistic Cues to Misrepresentation in Online Employer Reviews

Abstract

Employees may engage in some misrepresentation on employer review websites (e.g., GlassDoor, Indeed), even when reviewing an employer anonymously. This research explores how linguistic features of employee-generated reviews (N = 204) might serve as a means of detecting misrepresentation, presentations of the organization that depart from one’s personal beliefs, in employer reviews. Findings suggest language analytics may not be a fruitful means of detecting deception in online employer reviews. Results are discussed with respect to employees’ self-presentation of their employers and the linguistics of misrepresentation.

Keywords:

• Employee Satisfaction
• Linguistic Analysis
• Misrepresentation
• Online Reviews
• Ratings

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This research was funded by startup money provided to the second author by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Department of Communication Studies at the University of Kansas.