Employee silence in organizations refers to a state in which employees refrain from sharing information or critical opinions, or calling attention to issues at work, such as illegal or immoral practices or developments that violate personal, moral, or legal standards.
Silence is not always golden. When employees withhold information, an emotion or an important conversation, it’s not helpful for organizations and co-workers.
A good starting point to mitigate the negative consequences of employee silence is to understand the reasons why employees do not speak up.
Once you are aware of the reasons for silence, you will be able to overcome the specific type of silence and determine the best course of action.
As always, start with yourself by asking: “Am I contributing to employee silence around me?”
Also, remember that silence does not automatically mean that employees do not care or that they always have negative attitudes towards the organization.
According to Michael Knoll and Rolf van Dick, in Do I Hear the Whistle…? A First Attempt to Measure Four Forms of Employee Silence and Their Correlates, there are four types of silence.
We will consider the first two types of silence in this part: passive silence and defensive silence.
Passive Silence
Employees do not speak up due to the belief that their opinion is neither wanted nor valued by their supervisors and top management.
This lack of interest, in addition to a climate where conformity is promoted and dissent is suppressed, demotivates employees to participate.
Such passive withholding of relevant ideas, based on submission and resignation, leads to disengaged behavior shown by employees who have given up hope for improvement and are not willing to exert the effort to speak up, get involved, or attempt to change the situation.
Such employees are less and less interested in the company and can be described as “suspended in silence” or “quiet quitters.”
How to address passive silence:
- Begin by taking a real interest in your employees.
- Ask for and actively listen to their concerns and opinions.
- Make sure that their views are heard, acknowledged and appreciated.
- Demonstrate that their ideas are useful and valuable, and that they are put into practice.
- Be open to hearing a dissenting opinion or criticism. Conflicting opinions are necessary for creativity and innovation.
Defensive Silence
Defensive silence refers to the active withholding of relevant information in order to protect oneself, based on the fear that the consequences of speaking up could be personally unpleasant.
Fear is a key motivation for withholding ideas and opinions.
Other reasons that are at play here include: reluctance to transmit bad news, lack of psychological safety, and lack of opportunity to voice their concern.
Employees disagree with specific actions and are aware of alternatives but think of withholding information as the best personal strategy.
Since they are still interested in their work and their organization, employees in this state can be described as “suffering in silence.”
How to address defensive silence:
- Take steps to ensure psychological safety in the workplace.
- Encourage and reward employees who speak up.
- Be proactive in approaching people who you know are withholding information.
- When confronted with dissention or criticism, take the concern seriously and demonstrate that there will be no negative consequences.
Have you experienced or observed these types of employee silence?
May your learning be sweet,
Deborah
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