Effects of demographic, occupational, and practice environment variables on organizational silence among nurse managers

Abstract Aim : To define nurse managers’ organizational silence behaviors and examine the demographic, occupational, and practice environment factors that may influence their silence. Background : Organizational silence is affected by organizational structures, policies and procedures, team structures, and practice environments. Whether nurse managers’ behaviors affect the organizational silence and practice environment in particular has not been thoroughly studied. Methods : This cross‐sectional study was conducted using an online survey of 169 nurse managers working in a group of private hospitals in Turkey. Data were collected using the Nurse Manager Practice Environment Scale, the Organizational Silence Behavior Scale, and a questionnaire with 16 sociodemographic and job‐related questions, and descriptive statistics, correlations, and regression analyses were used to analyze the data. Results : Nurse managers exhibited acquiescent silence and silence for the protection of the organization. There was a negative correlation between scores on the two scales. Regression analysis showed that nurse managers’ organizational silence was affected by the two subscales of nurse managers’ practice environment and the ability to express opinions openly. Conclusion : Positive work environment and being able to express opinions comfortably decrease the level of organizational silence of nurse managers. Implications for nursing and health policy : In order to reduce organizational silence behaviors, along with open‐door policies and a corporate culture where ideas can be expressed freely, health institutions should implement measures to ensure a positive work environment that empowers administrative leaders to create a culture of patient safety and culture of generativity. Regulating the roles and responsibilities of nurse managers at the institutional level and implementing appropriate nursing laws and regulations at the national level will facilitate changes to improve their management practices.