© 2019 JETIR June 2019, Volume 6, Issue 6 www.jetir.org (ISSN-2349-5162) EMPLOYEE SILENCE AT WORK PLACE – A LITERATURE REVIEW 1Hyma M Research Scholar Kuriakose Gregorios College Pampady, Kottayam, Kerala, India 2Dr. Gangadathan Nair D Supervising Guide, Associate Professor S.V.R N.S.S College, Vazhoor, Kottayam Kerala, India. “Silence is talk too” ABSTRACT Silence is an indication of one’s attitude towards the problem or situation at hand. The main purpose of this study is to examine the various research findings on employee silence in the past and to develop a conceptual model on the reasons why employees remain silent at workplace. The causes of employee silence are found to be silence of peer employees, workplace bullying, effort to sustain valued relationships, organisational politics, negative organisational climate and fear of exploitation and isolation. This paper helps to find out the contradictions in the studies of different researchers and catch out the research gaps existing in this area of research. The review of previous literatures uncovered the indefinite usage of the terms ‘organisational silence’ and ‘employee silence’. There appears to be a weak link between silence behaviour and the profession. Also, the findings related to the link between organisational silence and organisational commitment is found as contradicting. Index Terms: Employee Silence, Organisational Silence and Organisational Commitment INTRODUCTION The concept of employee silence became popular in early 2000s after publishing the work of Morrison and Milliken with organisational silence as its theme. Pinder and Harlos define employee silence as, “the withholding of any form of genuine expression about the individual’s behavioural, cognitive and/or affective evaluations of his or her organisational circumstance to persons who are perceived to be capable of effecting change or redress”. Silence can either indicate that the person is completely satisfied or is not happy at all with the situation but is uncertain of how he or she can bring about a change to that. It can also indicate an indifferent attitude which arises when the employees are excluded from the decision making process for long enough to make them feel that their opinions or thoughts do not count. Usually the body language reveals what is hidden beneath the silence. JETIR1907252 Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org 758 © 2019 JETIR June 2019, Volume 6, Issue 6 www.jetir.org (ISSN-2349-5162) The employees working in an organisation remain silent either intentionally or unintentionally with different motives. Employee silence can be viewed from an individual’s perspective, team perspective or organisational perspective. Since this concept has become popular only after 2000s, only a few studies are conducted in this area. In order to explore more in this area, it is important for the researchers to review the literatures available at present. This study throws light in to the researchers who have taken this aspect as their area of research. LITERATURE REVIEW TABLE 1 – REVIEW OF SELECTED STUDIES RELATED TO EMPLOYEE SILENCE Sl Authors Year Title Theme Findings No : 1. Milliken J 2003 An In this study, the The findings of the F., Exploratory authors directly study revealed that the Morrison Study On interviewed 40 most frequently W E., Employee employees to quoted reason for Hewlin F Silence : Issues understand why they employees remaining P That remain silent about the silent was the fear of Employees’ issues those concern attaching a negative Don’t them in the label which Communicate organisation. consequently destroys Upward And priceless Why relationships. Also the decision to remain silent is related to the decisions made by the peer employees. 2. Vakola 2005 Antecedents A study was The result of Maria., And conducted among 677 correlation and Bouradas Consequences employees to analyse regression analysis Dimitris Of the effect of three reveals that the silence Organisational dimensions of silence of employees are Silence: An (Top management estimated by the Empirical attitude to silence, attitude of top Investigation supervisor’s attitude management towards to silence and employee silence, communication supervisor’s attitude opportunities) on to silence and employee silence communication behaviour, job opportunities. Also, it satisfaction and is found in the study organisational that these three commitment. dimensions are linked to job satisfaction and organisational commitment. JETIR1907252 Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org 759 © 2019 JETIR June 2019, Volume 6, Issue 6 www.jetir.org (ISSN-2349-5162) 3. Ehtiyar 2008 Organizational This paper examines It is observed that the Ruya.,Yan Silence: A the prevailing attitude attitude of majority of ardag survey on towards silence employees surveyed Melek employees climate of employees was neutral and they working in a and managers in neither had the chain hotel organizations and also discomfort nor a analyses the greater urge to speak relationship among up. It was also found silence and that the employees organisational surveyed had a commitment using medium level of factor analysis. commitment to the organisation. 4. Zehir 2011 The In this study, the The results of the Cemal., association authors conducted a study revealed that all Erdogan between survey among 714 the factors (Employee Ebru organizational people working in Silence, Ethical silence and national and Leadership, ethical multinational Employee leadership companies in Turkey, Performance and through to examine whether Employee Voice) employee there exists any taken for the study performance relation between are positively related. organisational silence They also constructed and ethical leadership a conceptual model behaviour. Factor showing the relation analysis, correlation and found that the and regression performance of analysis were used in employees is affected this study. by leadership behaviours. 5. Schlosser 2012 Hearing voice This study is The study indicates Francine., and silence conducted to identify that the factors that Zolin during the factors that help increase prosocial Roxanne stressful the supervisors to silence are supervisor economic catch prosocial silence tension and trust in times and to observe employees. The factor defensive silence by that increases constructing a five defensive silence is point scale. supervisor tension while the factors that reduces defensive silence are confederation of employees and trust in employees. This is an indication that voice and silence are statistically independent. 6. Kutanis 2014 Emotional In this paper, the The study concluded Ozen R., Intelligence, authors have surveyed that there is a Ardic K., Fear Based 157 health personnel negative Uslu O., Silence And working in a dental inconsiderable link Karakiraz Trust To clinic in order to find between emotional A Manager: A out the inter intelligence and fear- Case Study relationships between based silence and a JETIR1907252 Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org 760 © 2019 JETIR June 2019, Volume 6, Issue 6 www.jetir.org (ISSN-2349-5162) emotional positive irrelevant intelligence, trust to relation between managers and fear- employees’ trust to based silence. managers and fear- based silence. 7. Eriguc 2014 The Causes This paper is based on It was found in the Gulsun., And Effects Of a survey conducted study that the nurses Ozer The among 137 nurses, to who are below twenty Ozlem., Organisational determine the reasons five years of age and Turac Silence: On for remaining silent on who do not have Sevay Which Issues particular issues, with experience of more Ilkay., The Nurses the help of factor than four years Songur Remain Silent? analysis. remain more silent Cuma than others. Also the study revealed that female nurses remain more silent than others due to the fear of being isolated and damaging valued relationships. 8. Laeeque 2014 Employee This study focussed With the help of Harris silence as a on finding out the correlation and Syed., determinant of impact of employee regression analysis, it Bakhtawar organisational silence on was found that there i Zafar commitment: organisational is a negative relation Nodia Evidence from commitment with between the the higher reference to higher dependent variable education education sector of (Organisational sector of Pakistan. commitment) and the Pakistan Organisational independent variables commitment is (employee silence, considered as the acquiescent silence, dependent variable defensive silence and while the independent prosocial silence). variables are That is, in the matters employee silence, related to work, the acquiescent silence, more an employee defensive silence and chooses to or is prosocial silence. forced to remain silent, less is their Organisational commitment. 9. Umashank 2015 Relationship The authors conducted The study reveals that ar M., Between this study to identify only four independent Padmavat Employee the relationship variables (Normative hy S. Silence And between employee Commitment, Organisational silence and job Defensive Silence, Commitment satisfaction using Continuance In Health Care percentage, Commitment and Industry correlation and Prosocial Silence) regression analysis. directly influence the The dependent dependent variable variable here is job (Job Satisfaction). satisfaction and the Also acquiescent independent variables silence and defensive are acquiescent