Lexicon: Mauvaise Foi (Bad Faith)

The Etymology

French for "Bad Faith." Central concept in Jean-Paul Sartre’s Being and Nothingness (1943). It is distinct from "Lying" (Mensonge).

The Definition

Lying is when you know the truth and hide it from others. Bad Faith is when you hide the truth from yourself. It is a mechanism of self-deception adopted to escape the anxiety of freedom. In Bad Faith, a person pretends that they are not free, that they are determined by their past, their job, or their biology.

• Example: "I can't quit smoking; I have an addictive personality." (Treating oneself as a fixed object rather than a free agent).

The Corporate Application

The corporate world is a factory of Bad Faith. We are constantly encouraged to merge with our roles.

1. The Bureaucratic Defense When a manager says, "I would love to help you, but the policy says No," they are often in Bad Faith. They are pretending the Policy is a law of physics. In reality, they are choosing to value the policy over the exception. They are hiding behind the rule to avoid the responsibility of making a judgment call.

2. The "Golden Handcuffs" An executive hates their job but stays for the bonus. They tell themselves, "I have a mortgage, I have kids, I have no choice." Sartre would say: You do have a choice. You could sell the house. You could live more simply. By claiming the mortgage "forces" you to stay, you are turning your lifestyle (a choice) into a jailer (a fact). You are voluntarily wearing the handcuffs and pretending you lost the key.

The Cure: Radical honesty. Admit: "I am staying because I prefer the money to my happiness." Once you own the choice, you regain your dignity.