Managing Silence in Workplaces

Description

Silence within the workplace restricts change, transformation and the innovation of organizations. It can also be detrimental to the health and well-being of individual employees. Managing Silence in Workplaces investigates the costs of silence to the individual, the organization and society at large. In examining the coexistence of voice, noise and silence, the book demonstrates that management of silence is not possible in isolation of these other concepts. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach towards managing silence in workplaces, the book traces individual employee silence as movements in five zones of silence - hope, indifference, helplessness, hopelessness and exit. Looking at both the employer and employee perspectives, Sivaram Vemuri advocates the need to nurture hope to better manage and address the costs of silence to the individual employee and the organization. By incorporating examination of ethics into the management of silence in the workplace, the book proposes that silence can be managed better by the resolute pursuit of consciousness and breaking down the communication of real and imaginary barriers in workplaces and in the minds of the employees of organizations. It is an illuminating book for practitioners and researchers working within human resources management, as well as managers of organizations in any field. Contents List of Figures and Tables Preface Chapter 1: The Silent Killer The Need to Manage Silence Costs of Silence The Significance of Managing Silence in the Workplace Chapter 2: Paying Attention to Silence The Importance of Managers Paying Attention to Silence The Importance of a Transdisciplinary Framework Silence, Voice and Pluralism Ethics and Decision Making Chapter 3: Conceptualising Silence Silence as a Form of Workplace Communication In Search of a Conceptual Model Employee Participation Models of Employee Participation Chapter 4: Types of Silence in the Workplace Employee Participation: Movements in the Workplace The Management Implications of Silence in the Workplace Chapter 5: Measuring Silence in the Workplace Measures of Silence in Decision Making Possibility of Using Existing Body of Work on Silence Proposed Changes Impression Formation Coping Strategies Decisions Made Measurement Framework Based on Hope Management Implications Based on Framework Underpinning Existing Measures Suggested Framework for Measuring Silences Chapter 6: Application in Real-World Contexts Context of the Workplace and Internal Structure and Process Public Sector Agency A Public Sector Agency B Combined Public/Private Sector Agency Findings Combined Public Sector Agency Result Private Sector Private Sector Results The Role of Organisational Structure Commonalities Between Public and Private Sectors Differences Between Public and Private Sector Assessment of Management of Silence in Workplaces Chapter 7: Conclusions References Index