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How Employee Voice Helps Community Engagement (Roots of Silence (Not…
How Employee Voice Helps Community Engagement
Frequent - employees refrain from voicing opinion about major issue out of fear or because they believe their opinion will not matter
Silence at work has other potential costs
If employees believe it is useless to bring up problems they may generalize your problems
Widespread yet Invisible Problem
85% or respondents said that at least once, employees felt unable to raise an issue or concernwith their bosses
Only 1/2 said they were comfortable speaking up
Roots of Silence
Fear
Employees don't speak up because of fear of negative consequences
If bringing up problems is considered criticism of management, silence replaces honesty
Futility
Speaking up won't bring about any change in org
Can lead to apathy and withdrawl
Mum's the word
"Mum effect" - people stay silent about problems because of discomfort associated with bearing bad news
Employees sympathize with their bosses
Not Having a solution
"Don't bring me problems, bring me solutions"
Unrealistic expectation of managers for employees to have solution
Encourages quick fixes rather than solutions
Fear of being Labelled
Employees don't want to be pegged as "complainer"
Cost for Employees and Companies
When employees don't speak up, valuable info can be lost
Silence about events at work can cause conflict for employees
Moral obligation to speak up?
Employees feel it is wiser to be silent
Managers must pay attention to internal practices regarding communication
Inability to speak at work, can impact employees' personal lives
Costs for Society
"Spillover effect" - conditions of one area of life can directly affect another
Employees who have learned it is useless to speak to managers at work tend to become passive in other decisions at home
"learned helplessness" - people are exposed over a long period of time to unpleasant situations and eventually stop trying
Can present risks for democratic societies, which require participation
Effects on Community Engagement
Positive organizational conditions - can impact community through employees who live there
Participative work or work that involves group decision making and self discretion
People who experience strong negative emotions tend to overestimate the probability of negative outcomes and underestimate the probability of positive ones
Turning up the volume
Google - critical to making team work = safe space where people can speak up and share ideas without fear, everyone has a turn
Formal surveys can be put in place
careful to not have punitve effects
Role of Governance Models
Corporate governance structures need to be rethought
Include interests of stake holders other than share holders - including employees and community members