Voice and Silence Climates in the Swedish Healthcare and Educational Sectors
摘要
The chapter is based on an interview study about raising concerns in the healthcare and educational sectors in Sweden. Four themes are addressed in the chapter: 1. Debates on how to understand the concepts voice and silence. Are they automatic behavior based on taken-for-granted assumptions or are they intentional actions based on experiences? 2. A typology of voice and silence climates based on participation in decision-making, degree of openness, trust, and support between people at the workplace. Five groups of climates were found: A high voice climate, a moderate voice climate, a restrained voice climate, a resignation silence climate, and a silence and fear climate. 3. The effects of management practice on voice and silence workplace climates. A democratic leadership orientation lays the foundation for a voice climate based on trust and open dialogue. Workers are involved in decision-making processes at the workplace. Silence and fear climates are created by an autocratic and retaliative leadership orientation. A hierarchical view on communication are silencers both regarding concerns raised internally and externally. 4. A discussion about how the study relates to the organization models: the bureaucratic/hierarchical model, new public management (NPM), the professional organization and trust-based governance.