An investigation of the factors influencing organizational silence from the perspective of employees

Creation and management of the debate, exchanging ideas, dialogue and listening to other voices are among the managers challenges in the workplace. This study aimed to investigate the factors influencing organizational silence which its purpose was practical and the data was collected in a mixed (quantitative - qualitative) way. In quantitative section Respondents were 332 cases who were selected by categorized sampling and in qualitative section 8 cases were selected by purposeful sampling from among employees of universities affiliated to ministry of science, research and technology. Silence climate questionnaire of Vakola and Bouradas (2005), Researcher-made questionnaire of silence behavior and semi-structured interview were used as the research tools. Questionnaires validity was reviewed and approved by academic experts. Questionnaires reliability was calculated as 0.89, 0.88 using Cronbachs alpha. Questionnaires data analysis was performed by SPSS software using descriptive and inferential statistical procedures and for the analysis of interview content analysis method was used. Quantitative findings showed that the status of silence climate and behavior and all factors except for self -protection were unfavorable. Qualitative findings showed the factors affecting the status. Therefore the findings suggested that planning for reducing silence climate and behavior is necessary