Have you ever downplayed a part of who you are just to feel accepted at work?

Maybe it was your background, your beliefs, or even just your personality. That quiet act of self-editing - called covering - is more common than many realise, and it comes at a high cost to individuals and organisations alike.

In this episode of the Digital HR Leaders podcast, host David Green is joined by Rami Tzafrir, Senior Director of Talent, Organisation and Learning at HiBob, to unpack powerful new research on covering in the workplace. Together, they explore why this behaviour is not just a personal issue but a signal of deeper organisational challenges—and what HR can do about it.

Key topics explored in the conversation include:

• What covering really means, and why so many employees do it

• Headline findings from HiBob’s global research on identity in the workplace

• Which groups are most likely to cover, and why

• How covering impacts performance, engagement, and career progression

• The link between covering and psychological safety

• What HR can do to create cultures of transparency and trust

• The complex role AI may play in either reinforcing or reducing covering

This is a conversation that challenges traditional ideas of inclusion and calls for a more human approach to organisational culture.

Want to build a culture where people feel free to be themselves?

Download HiBob’s new report, “Hidden at work: The human cost of covering in today's workplaces”, at www.hibob.com/covering.

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