Employee voice as a means to facilitate organizational safety and crisis preparedness

ABSTRACT

A comprehensive diagnosis of an organization’s preparedness for a crisis requires an examination of its climate beyond the influences from the management. This study emphasizes the crucial role employees play in establishing and maintaining a climate that will survive crises by examining the function of promotive and prohibitive voice in fostering a culture of safety. The current study proposed a model in which employee promotive and prohibitive voices impact organizational crisis preparedness through the mediation of organizational safety culture. 329 working adults participated in the study through answering an online questionnaire on MTurk. The data were consistent with the proposed path model, demonstrating the critical role that employee voice plays in creating a culture of safety, which ultimately leaves an organization adequately or inadequately prepared for a potential crisis event.

KEYWORDS:

• Employee voice
• organizational crisis
• crisis preparedness
• safety culture

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Cheng Zeng

Cheng Zeng (PhD., University of Jyväskylä, 2018) is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at North Dakota State University.

Stephanie Kelly

Stephanie Kelly (PhD., University of Tennessee, 2012) is a professor in the School of Business and Economics at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.

Ryan Goke

Ryan Goke (PhD., North Dakota State University, 2023) is an assistant professor in the Department of Organizational Communication & Leadership at Murray State University.

Audra Diers-Lawson

Audra Diers-Lawson (PhD, University of Texas-Austin, 2006) is a Professor in the School of Communication, Leadership and Marketing at Kristiania University College.