Peer Coworker Relationships: Influences on the Expression of Lateral Dissent

Peer coworkers exchange a variety of messages in their organizational experiences. However, little is known about how peer coworker relationship quality affects expression of organizational dissent. This study utilized Kram and Isabella's (1985 Kram, K. F. & Isabella, L. A. (1985). Mentoring alternatives: The role of peer relationships in career development. Academy of Management Journal, 28, 110–132. doi:10.2307/256064[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) typology of peer coworker relationships to examine their impact on lateral dissent expression and dissent messages. The results revealed that special and collegial peers engage in greater amounts of lateral dissent expression than information peers. No differences emerged between the types of peer coworkers relationships in their use of dissent messages. The study lends support to the notion that organizational dissent is influenced by peer coworker relationships.