Antecedents and outcomes of employee silence a study of select it companies in India

Abstract

Employee Silence is a phenomenon with multiple causes and it is a subtle behavior that is difficult to interpret. The intentional withholding of ideas, opinions, information and suggestions by employees at workplace has been associated to many important individual and organizational outcomes. The present research discusses the distressing significance of studying Silence. Also, the concepts related to silence are discussed, that helps in understanding underlying motives of Employee Silence. The theoretical perspectives of Employee Silence are discussed in view of micro and macro perspectives. Therefore, the antecedents and outcomes of Employee Silence are explored both from the individual and organizational perspective. All the variables related to Employee Silence are drawn out with valid rationale in context to the existing literature. The research is carried out in select IT companies of India with a sample of 464 respondents. The three studies which follow are designed to: (a) investigate the dimensions, antecedents and outcomes of Employee Silence, (b) establish relationship between the dimensions of Employee Silence, Perceived Organizational Climate and certain Outcomes (c) find the mediating/moderating relationship of Employee Silence between Perceived Organizational Climate and certain Outcomes. The exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses validate five dimensions of Employee Silence namely Defensive Silence, Diffident Silence, Inefficient Silence, Self-image Silence and Acquiescent Silence. Also, the results indicate that Employee Silence is significantly related to the components of Perceived Organizational Climate and other important organizational behavior phenomena namely Employee Engagement, Withdrawal, Exhaustion and Performance.