The (un)speaking self: an identity-based model for employee voice and silence

• Autor(a) principal: FELIX,BRUNO
• Data de Publicação: 2020
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Cadernos EBAPE.BR
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1679-39512020000300557
• topic: Voice; Silence; Identity; Threat; Self

Abstract The literature on employee voice and silence has typically explored these behaviors as being motivated by calculative-instrumental purposes (what will I gain/lose if I volunteer information?). I argue that voice and silence are social-functional behaviors that are embedded within everyday interactions at work, and I draw on social identity theory to propose an identity-based model of employee voice and silence (how does speaking up affect my definition of who I am?). The presented model explains how individuals can volunteer information or remain silent by preserving or restructuring their sense of self in the face of identity threats. I also explore the conditions for each identity-based speaking behavior and offer contributions to both the Organizational Behavior and Industrial Relations literature on employee voice and silence.