Abstract:

Organizational silence is conceptualized in the extant literature as the intentional withholding of work-related information based on a variety of different underlying motives. In this article, qualitative research methodology was preferred and in-depth interviews were performed with the participants to identify individual/organizational causes of employee silence which can lead employees to remain silent in organizations. The interviews elicited acquiescent, quiescent, prosocial, and opportunistic forms of silence.  Results of the interviews  indicated that employees often do not speak up due to beliefs that their opinion is neither wanted nor valued by their supervisors (Acquiescent Silence); withhold some  information in order to protect oneself, based on the fear that the consequences of speaking up could be personally unpleasant (Quiescent Silence); preserve ideas with the goal of benefiting other people or the organization based on cooperative motives (Prosocial Silence), and disguise work-related ideas or opinions strategically with the purpose of achieving an advantage for oneself despite causing harm for others (Opportunistic Silence).

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