Problems in the Workplace? Stay Silent or Speak Up?
When there is a problem in the workplace, employees have two options: remain silent or speak up. Unfortunately, many employees choose to remain silent, to the great detriment of the organizations for which they work. Their silence keeps management from receiving critical information that would allow their organizations to improve or address problems before they have adverse effects. Reducing employee silence, then, is a key concern for managers. Subrahmaniam Tangirala, assistant professor of management and organization at the Smith School, examined how the effects of individual-level variables such as professional pride, loyalty to the organization and individual perceptions of organizational fairness and supervisor status affected employee silence.