Tab. 1
Types of organisational silence
| General nature of behaviour | Primary employee motive | Specific type of behaviour |
|---|---|---|
| Passive | Disengaged (resignation) | Acquiescent silence |
| Acquiescent voice | ||
| Proactive | Self-protective (fear) | Defensive silence |
| Defensive voice | ||
| Other-oriented (cooperation) | Prosocial silence | |
| Prosocial voice |
[i] Source: compiled by the authors, according to Dyne et al. (2003).
Tab. 2
Research-related demographic data
| Category | Variable | Part in the research (%) | Part in national statistics (%) | Difference (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gender | Women | 88.5 | 83.8 | +4.7 |
| Men | 11.5 | 16.2 | −4.7 | |
| Age | 18–24 | 5.8 | 0.52 | +5.28 |
| 25–40 | 22.1 | 14.54 | +7.56 | |
| 41–55 | 56.7 | 48.16 | +8.54 | |
| 56–65 | 15.4 | 33.84 | −18.44 | |
| Marital status | Single | 14.4 | - | - |
| Married | 74.0 | - | - | |
| Divorced | 11.5 | - | - |
[i] Source: compiled by the authors using the research data and SMM statistics (2017 (2018).
Tab. 3
Mean values and standard deviations for different types of organisational silence
| Types of organisational silence (OS) | Mean | Std. Deviation |
|---|---|---|
| Acquiescent silence | 3.51 | 0.66 |
| Acquiescent voice | 1.89 | 0.76 |
| Defensive silence | 2.27 | 0.73 |
| Defensive voice | 3.41 | 0.75 |
| Prosocial silence | 1.86 | 0.71 |
| Prosocial voice | 1.99 | 0.70 |
Tab. 4
Results of the Mann-Whitney U test for different types of organisational silence
| Gender N (%) | Female | Male | Mann–Whitney Test | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type of OS | 88.5 | 11.5 | U | W | Z | Asymp. Sig. (2-tailed) |
| Acquiescent silence | 52.55 | 52.08 | 547.0 | 625.0 | −0.05 | 0.96 |
| Acquiescent voice | 51.36 | 61.25 | 447.0 | 4725.0 | −1.08 | 0.28 |
| Defensive silence | 51.24 | 62.17 | 436.0 | 4714.0 | −1.18 | 0.24 |
| Defensive voice | 52.55 | 52.08 | 547.0 | 625.0 | −0.05 | 0.96 |
| Prosocial silence | 51.05 | 63.63 | 418.5 | 4696.5 | −1.37 | 0.17 |
| Prosocial voice | 52.60 | 51.75 | 543.0 | 621.0 | −0.09 | 0.93 |
[i] Note: the difference is significant if p < 0.05
Tab. 5
Differences in types of organisational silence (OS) by age groups
| Age N (%) | 18–24 | 25–40 | 41–55 | 56–65 | Chi-Square | Asymp. Sig. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Types of OS | 5.8 | 22.1 | 56.7 | 15.4 | ||
| Acquiescent silence | 47.25 | 51.37 | 52.68 | 55.44 | 0.37 | 0.95 |
| Acquiescent voice | 65.58 | 53.46 | 50.38 | 54.03 | 1.52 | 0.68 |
| Defensive silence | 74.17 | 51.22 | 49.62 | 56.84 | 4.04 | 0.26 |
| Defensive voice | 23.58 | 60.93 | 52.06 | 52.84 | 7.40 | 0.06 |
| Prosocial silence | 68.50 | 55.20 | 48.80 | 56.28 | 3.08 | 0.38 |
| Prosocial voice | 62.25 | 47.59 | 53.62 | 51.78 | 1.34 | 0.72 |
[i] Note: the difference is significant if p < 0.05
Tab. 6
Differences in types of organisation silence (OS) by marital status
| Marital status N (%) | Single | Married | Divorced | Chi-Square | Asymp. Sig. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Types of OS | 14.4 | 74.0 | 11.5 | ||
| Acquiescent silence | 44.47 | 51.57 | 68.50 | 4.57 | 0.10 |
| Acquiescent voice | 62.40 | 50.71 | 51.63 | 1.94 | 0.38 |
| Defensive silence | 62.90 | 50.32 | 53.50 | 2.22 | 0.33 |
| Defensive voice | 49.47 | 53.16 | 52.04 | 0.19 | 0.91 |
| Prosocial silence | 63.03 | 50.95 | 49.29 | 2.21 | 0.33 |
| Prosocial voice | 55.83 | 52.68 | 47.21 | 0.56 | 0.76 |
[i] Note: the difference is significant if p < 0.05