Employee Silence
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.
Research has identified four types of silence. We considered the first two: passive and defensive silence in Tip #1059. Now we’ll consider the last two types of silence.
Social Silence
Employees withhold work-related ideas, information, or opinions with the goal of benefiting other people or the organization—based on altruistic or cooperative motives.
In socially motivated silence, employees do not complain and they tend to tolerate inconveniences at work without voicing their grievances.
There are many reasons for this: for example, an altruistic personality, a high motive for affiliation, or a desire to maintain their social capital in the group.
We describe these employees as “fellows in silence.”
How to address social silence:
- Welcome and encourage employees to voice their opinions, particularly in regard to other people in the team and organization.
- Communicate that the only way you and your team will improve your products and work lives is to say something, and that open dialogue does not need to change personal relations.
- Emphasize the importance of open and honest communication to group cohesion and collaboration.
Opportunistic Silence
Employees withhold information to achieve perceived advantages for themselves.
Characteristic behaviors include withholding or providing incomplete or distorted information, with the intention to mislead, disguise, or confuse.
Information withholding, or deviant refusal to share, is a very powerful tactic that leads to counter-productive work behavior.
Employees may also withhold information because they do not want to give away power and status or just because they want to avoid additional workload.
We describe these emploiyees as “tactically in silence.”
How to address opportunistic silence:
- Directly address situations when employees hoard information to the detriment of others.
- Provide active team building so employees recognize that they help themselves when they help others to succeed.
- Demonstrate the value of speaking up and sharing information for the whole team.
Question: Have you seen or experienced social or opportunistic silence in your workplace?
If your organization is struggling with the devastating effects of employee silence, please book a call to discuss management training for your team. https://laurelandassociates.com/contact/
May your learning be sweet,
Deborah
#employeesilence #opportunisticsilence #socialsilence #management #laurelandassociates #hrmanagers #trainingmanagers