Employee voice

LO1: What is employee voice?

LO2: Employee voice & Employee attitudes/ behaviours inside the workplace

DEFINITION: the informal and discretionary communication by an employee of ideas, suggestions, concerns, or information about problems to persons who might be able to take appropriate action with the intent to bring about improvement or change

LO3 - Employee voice & employee attitudes/behaviours outside the workplace

Perceptions of procedural justice

Effects of employee voice outside the workplace

community engagement

affective states

cognitive states

opportunities for self direction and to exercise ones voice likely to increase employee community engagement

voice opportunities impact employee emotions (e.g. dissatisfaction, stress) which in turn influence their level of community engagement

Procedures allow for employee input

Why worry about employee voice?

avenues which allow someone to express emotional states will help an employee to cope better and increase resilience

Perceptions of self-efficacy and self-control

violence at community level

negative influence

voice opportunities help to improve the level of community engagement

levels of unrest and corruption at country level

voice opportunities impact cognitive states which in turn influence their level of community engagement

negative influence

level of peace

positive influence

types of cognitive states

cynicims

alienation

helplessness

lack of input may lead to reduced levels of organisational identification, commitment, trust, job satisfaction, OCB, increase turnover

attitudes and behaviours of employees both within and outside the organisation

theory suggests the more voice opportunities an individual is exposed to the more liberating and the more free will someone is empowered to experience, and therefore their likely to experience heathier cognitive mindsets

Modern reality of employee voice

majority feel unsafe to exercise their voice

Cognitive dissonance

inconsistency between ones beliefs and ones behaviours

hierarchies

limited protection provided for employees

Feelings of helplessness, apathy and anger

silence due to belief that input will be ignored

for those who value self control, lack of voice could lead to anger

can lead to productivity

employees more likely to work on ideas they help create

LOB4: How do legal frameworks influence employee voice in the workplace

behavioural states

Advocating democratic values for the governance of society, most organisations located within democracies do not advocate the same approach for the governance of themselves

voice opportunities impact employee behavioural states which in turn influences their level of community engagement

types of behavioural states

An increase in institutional shareholders eg. investment companies, and concurrent decline of organised labour eg. unions,

depression

substance abuse

the nature of voice expression will also feed back into the organisation

Legislative framework = places the interests of shareholders eg. owners, above other stake holders

natures of voice expression

positive

opportunities available for managers to encourage employee voice by citing potential benefits for shareholders in eyes of law

negative

on average reduces opportunities for employee voice

has resulted in declining employee voice

Policy making should consider developing legislation pertaining to organisations that provides flexibility for organisational decision makers to think beyond shareholders