Most managers would agree that employees should speak up when they have concerns, ideas, or feedback. These same managers would also likely concur that, as supervisors, they play a crucial role in determining whether employees offer such input. After all, employees often take cues from those in authority, and when managers invite and encourage participation, employees follow suit. However, managers often refrain from inviting employees to provide input or even discourage those who do speak up. My research explores the structural and psychological factors that lead managers to resist and ignore or discount employee input.

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For instance, my research suggests that managers are less likely to seek employee input when their organizations grant them limited authority to act on such ideas. Similarly, my work illuminates situations in which managers react negatively to feedback. Specifically, managers tend to react most negatively to ideas raised in public settings by employees with whom they have a distant relationship, thereby depriving themselves of potentially valuable perspectives.

Turning the focus to the psychology of employees, my work illustrates that conceptualizing employees' communication as simply speaking up or remaining silent may be an oversimplification. Rather, voice and silence are driven by two distinct psychological systems and are not necessarily opposites, as is commonly assumed. As a result, my work prescribes that managers interested in promoting voice rather than reducing silence should focus on unique, tailored steps.