Why do employees choose defensive silence?: How concerns with formal powerholders undermine self-efficacy to dissent

ABSTRACT

This study used structurational divergence theory (SDT) to explain why employees’ concerns with powerholders can encourage them to select defensive silence in their approach to workplace problems. A survey of working adults (N = 276) revealed employees who had a concern with powerholders were more likely to select defensive silence as compared to employees who were concerned about other types of workplace concerns. Results indicated that perceptions of structurational divergence—and the loss of agency and immobilization that characterize it—are associated with employees’ selection of defensive silence instead of dissent. Implications for structurational divergence theory and organizational silence conclude the paper.

KEYWORDS:

• Structurational divergence theory
• defensive silence
• management communication

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to thank the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication (HDSHC) for their financial support through ASU start-up funding as well as seed grant funding through the HDSHC Transformation project. Additionally, the authors would like to thank Dr. William Howe for his assistance with the confirmatory factor analysis for this study.

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lauren G. Millender

Lauren G. Millender (M.A., University of Oklahoma) is an organizational science doctoral student at the University of North Carolina Charlotte. Her research interests include management communication, high-reliability organizations, and implicit theories of intelligence.

Ryan S. Bisel

Ryan S. Bisel (Ph.D., University of Kansas) is a Professor of Organizational Communication at the University of Oklahoma. His research interests include leadership communication and behavioral ethics.

Alaina C. Zanin

Alaina C. Zanin (PhD, University of Oklahoma) is an associate professor of organizational and health communication at Arizona State University. Her research interests include structuration, sensemaking, and leadership theories as well as issues regarding gender, power, and resistance.