The Influence of Workload, Employee Silence and Trust in Management on Work Outcomes Among Australian Allied Health Workers During COVID‐19

Little research has been undertaken on one of the largest and, arguably, critical workforces in the health sector—Allied Health (AH) professionals. These professionals encompass a diverse range of healthcare experts, including radiographers, psychotherapists, and occupational therapists (excluding doctors, nurses, and paramedics), and they are frequently deployed in hospital settings as part of multidisciplinary teams. As such this research explores the impact on workload on this highly integrated group and their ability to work effectively. Through an online survey with both closed and open‐ended questions, this study investigates the impact of increased workload on employee silence and its potential adverse effects on engagement and the intention to leave of this critical workforce ‐ allied health professionals. The survey sample consisted of 1160 participants, including radiographers, psychotherapists, and occupational therapists, with 334 participants providing comments in the open‐ended questions. We discovered that trust in management significantly moderates the detrimental effects of workloads on these variables, particularly the intention to leave. The findings of this research contribute to the human resource management (HRM) literature in two significant ways. First, our study enhances the employee silence literature by addressing issues under management's purview for control and change. Second, it advances our understanding of protective resources that can mitigate the negative consequences of workloads on employee silence, thereby bolstering engagement and retention intentions. It is important for an HRM audience as we argue that perceived workload expectations impact employee voice systems negatively where there is an erosion of trust with management. However, by building trust through open communication and feedback, HRM can decrease AH professionals' intention to leave.