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Cited by 349Job Satisfaction and Organizational BehaviorStress and Burnout ResearchLabor Movements and Unions

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 254 of the 254 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Distinguishing Voice and Silence at Work: Unique Relationships with Perceived Impact, Psychological Safety, and Burnout

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Sherf, Elad N., Parke, Michael R., Isaakyan, Sofya·2021·Academy of Management Journal
DOI 10.5465/amj.2018.1428
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Abstract

Scholars continue to debate whether voice and silence are opposites or distinct constructs. This ambiguity has prevented meaningful theoretical advancements about employees’ voice and silence at work. We draw on the behavioral activation and behavioral inhibition systems perspective to provide a conceptual framework for the independence of voice and silence and explicate how two key antecedents—perceived impact and psychological safety—more strongly relate to voice and silence, respectively. We further differentiate voice and silence by identifying their distinct effects on employee burnout. In Study 1, a meta-analysis, we demonstrate that voice and silence are independent (Mρ = −.15) and that perceived impact (psychological safety) relates more strongly to voice (silence) than to silence (voice). We also find that silence has a significantly stronger association with burnout compared to voice. In Study 2, we constructively replicate these findings in an interval-contingent panel study across six months. Taken together, this article helps shift the conversation of whether voice and silence are distinct constructs to how they differ and why such differences matter.

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Citations

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Research works printed but not linked: 25

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Metadata

Authors
Sherf, E. N., Parke, M. R., & Isaakyan, S.
Affiliations
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
  • University of Pennsylvania (US)
  • Erasmus University Rotterdam (NL)
ORCID
Venue
Academy of Management Journal
Publisher
Academy of Management
Published
2021-02
Volume
64
Issue
1
Pages
114-148
ISSN
  • 0001-4273 (ISSN-L)
  • 1948-0989
DOI
10.5465/amj.2018.1428
OpenAlex
W3005288118
Semantic Scholar
8090554c1ccb1981f5645fad8304e76f92b063b3
Cited by
349
References
248
Citations by year
2026: 68 · 2025: 76 · 2024: 82 · 2023: 46 · 2022: 40 · 2021: 32
FWCI
32.95
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
other-oa
Locations
  • Academy of Management Journal (publishedVersion)
  • EUR Research Repository (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • London Business School Research Online (London Business School) (acceptedVersion)
  • EUR Research Repository (Erasmus University Rotterdam) (submittedVersion)
  • UNC Libraries
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Stress and Burnout Research
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Industrial relations › Labor Movements and Unions
Keywords
employee voice, employee silence, perceived impact, psychological safety, burnout, behavioral activation system, behavioral inhibition system, workplace dissent

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