Why do employees remain silent or withhold information? Give an example of how to address this.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Employee silence is the intentional withholding of meaningful information from
management, which includes asking questions expressing concerns and offering
suggestions. A diary study conducted with professionals from diverse organizations
found that employees with negative affect were more likely to be silent when they also
had high levels of rumination. In other words, employees who have negative emotions
and also worry about their job situation are more likely to withhold information. This
effect was even stronger for employees whose jobs had high demands for problem
solving. Another study found that employees perceptions of procedural justice
generated positive emotions, and thus they were less likely to remain silent. Climates of
organizational silence emerge due to organizational structures or policies, managerial
practices, and degree of demographic dissimilarity between employees and top
managers. Withholding information by remaining silent is a barrier to organizational
change and compromises the ability to hear different points of view on important
organizational matters. Organizational silence can have detrimental effects on decision-
making by blocking alternative views, negative feedback, and accurate information.
Managerial secrecy combined with employee silence may combine to enable corruption.
Remaining silent has negative consequences for employees as well. Research has
shown silence is negatively related to job satisfaction and organizational commitment. In
sum, organizational silence has numerous negative outcomes for both employees and
the organization. Leaders can take action to reduce silence. Research on employee
voice suggests formalized employee involvement and a participative climate both
encourage employees to provide opinions, which reduce organizational silence. For
example, a study of police officers found building trust with higher level managers and
building communication bridges reduced officer silence. Also, ethical leadership
supports employees and encourages them be more confident to speak up in a
constructive way.