The (un)speaking self: an identity-based model for employee voice and silence

Abstract The literature on employee voice and silence has typically explored these behaviors as being motivated by calculative-instrumental purposes (what will I gain/lose if I volunteer information?). I argue that voice and silence are social-functional behaviors that are embedded within everyday interactions at work, and I draw on social identity theory to propose an identity-based model of employee voice and silence (how does speaking up affect my definition of who I am?). The presented model explains how individuals can volunteer information or remain silent by preserving or restructuring their sense of self in the face of identity threats. I also explore the conditions for each identity-based speaking behavior and offer contributions to both the Organizational Behavior and Industrial Relations literature on employee voice and silence.摘要 现有关于员工建言（employee voice）与员工沉默（employee silence）的研究，通常将这类行为的动机归结为计算-工具性取向，即"主动传递信息时，我将获得何种收益或承受何种损失？"。本文认为，建言与沉默本质上是嵌入于日常工作互动中的社会功能性行为，并援引社会认同理论（Social Identity Theory）提出了员工建言与沉默的身份认同模型，探讨"直言发声会如何影响我对自身身份的界定？"这一核心议题。该模型阐释了个体在面临身份威胁时，如何通过维系或重构自我身份认知，来选择主动建言或保持沉默。此外，本文还探究了各类基于身份认同的发声行为的适用条件，并为组织行为学（Organizational Behavior）与劳动关系（Industrial Relations）领域中有关员工建言与沉默的研究提供了理论贡献。