Voice, silence and dissent in organizations

This dissertation examines employee voice, silence, and dissent as central communicative behaviors that shape organizational life, with particular attention to how contemporary sociopolitical pressures and evolving workplace expectations influence these dynamics. As organizations face increasing demands regarding social responsibility, employee well-being, and purposeful work, understanding the reasons and the ways employees choose to speak up, remain silent, or express dissent has become critical. The research addresses two significant gaps in the existing literature through a multi-method and multi-perspective approach across three empirical studies. First, it investigates employee activism as a communicative behavior in which employees extend their voice beyond organizational boundaries to engage with sociopolitical issues, challenging or supporting corporate positions. Study 1 adopts a cross-national qualitative design based on semi-structured interviews with managers and communication professionals to examine how activism is perceived and managed within organizations. Study 2 employs a survey to explore employee perspectives on communicative and actionable activism intentions, testing relationships between organizational factors (i.e., climate of voice, transparent leadership communication, and authenticity), individual factors (i.e., organizational identification, perceived external prestige, and employee engagement), and the moderating role of corporate and CEO activism on these relationships. Second, the dissertation examines the dissenting voices of employees experiencing toxic work environments as contexts in which harmful organizational dynamics suppress voice, normalize silence, and undermine employee well-being and organizational functioning. Despite its importance, this topic remains underexplored, particularly in terms of how employees respond communicatively and how they perceive managerial behavior. Using a mixed-methods approach, Study 3 investigates these aspects through survey data and qualitative content analysis of employee reports and experiences. By integrating theoretical frameworks with empirical evidence, this dissertation demonstrates that voice, silence, and dissent are interdependent communicative behaviors embedded within organizational climates, leadership practices, and broader social and cultural transformations. It contributes theoretically by positioning employee communicative behaviors within the changing nature of work, characterized by digitalization, sociopolitical engagement and well-being concerns. It also offers insights into how organizations can foster climates that channel dissent into constructive dialog and support authentic voice, through listening, enabling, learning, adapting, and responsiveness, which help them manage employee voice across contexts and adapt to the evolving world of work.