This autumn Lucent embarked on the first part of an investigation into what is termed organisational silence – the conditions under which people will and won’t speak out about problems, improvements and other issues in the workplace. In the world of information overload and minute by minute changes, leaders and managers need their staff to tell them what’s going on and not keep vital information and observation to themselves.
Thank you to all the people who participated. 163 people from the general working population from a wide variety of industry and service sectors completed our online questionnaire. The results are pretty startling, suggesting that many people really find it difficult to speak up in organisations, even about serious and potentially damaging issues. The preliminary results find:
- Around a quarter of people report difficulty in speaking up to more senior managers (26%)
- A slightly higher number report difficulty speaking up even for an issue that is unsafe, immoral or illegal (nearly 30%)
- 50% of people are uncomfortable speaking up when it involves disagreeing with a more senior manager – even when it’s about a decision they think might damage the organisation
- 30% of people think speaking up is futile and 18% fear retaliation
These are fairly large groups of people - certainly large enough for organisations to give this some serious thought. The factors which people most cite as affecting silence are managers’ attitudes and organisational culture, and these are factors that organisations can do something about. Managers can be supported to develop the skills to handle speaking out positively. Organisations can also drive behaviour change through strong and authentic values which support the culture of the organisation.
A more detailed view of the results can be found here.
We will be exploring more about the factors which inhibit and encourage silence in organisations early next year. If you would like to take part in an interview about this, please get in touch.
We will be exploring more about the factors which inhibit and encourage silence in organisations early next year. If you would like to take part in an interview about this, please get in touch.
Thanks again and Merry Christmas from everyone at Lucent.
