Determinants of Employee Silence: Evidence From Multi-Level Analysis

This research examines the effects of individual and organizational factors on four types of employee silence: acquiescent, defensive, pro-social, and adaptive. Based on the conservation of resources theory, this study demonstrates that both individual- and organizational-level factors significantly influence social workers’ decisions to remain silent. As frontline workers in the service delivery chain, social workers possess critical insights into improving relevant policies. However, withholding such valuable information through silence can negatively impact organizations. To find some clues about decreasing employee silence, this study conducted a hierarchical linear model analysis with data from 1,537 frontline social workers in 359 community social service agencies in South Korea. The results indicate that, among organizational factors, larger organizational size increases acquiescent and defensive silence, whereas the presence of a formal mentoring system reduces the likelihood of acquiescent silence. Among individual factors, surface acting increases acquiescent, defensive, and pro-social silence, while autonomy and intrinsic motivation decrease acquiescent, defensive, and adaptive silence. Interestingly, pro-social silence shows distinct results, with leader tenure and intrinsic motivation contributing to its increase.