Development and psychometric testing of the Organizational Silence Behavior Scale for healthcare professionals

Abstract

Organizational silence maintained by professionals working in the healthcare sector could result in various moral dilemmas and might negatively affect patient care. The aim of this methodological study was to develop a scale that measured the organizational silence behaviors of healthcare professionals. During the development of the scale, researchers conducted in-depth interviews with 30 healthcare professionals in order to create a draft pool of 66 scale items. After content validity, a 62 item scale was drafted. In the second stage of development, psychometric properties of the scale were evaluated. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis indicated that adequate fit indices (χ 2 value to degrees of freedom = 3.54; goodness-of-fit index = .92; root mean square error of approximation = .90) were achieved and resulted in a 32 item scale with four subscales. These subscales were assessed using a 5 point Likert scale. The Cronbach's alpha for the scale was .93, and for the subscales, it was as follows: silence climate: α = .91, silence based on fear: = .91, acquiesce silence: α = .93, and silence based on protecting the organization: α = .85. The Organizational Silence Behavior Scale was successfully developed and showed satisfactory validity and reliability. It is usable among healthcare professionals. K E Y W O R D S organizational silence, reliability, scale development, validity

The Mediating Role of Organizational Cynicism in the Relationship between Workplace Incivility and Organizational Silence

“…Submissive silence is when the individual keeps his thoughts to himself based on the acceptance of something unpleasant. On the other hand, calm silence is the individual's silence to protect himself, based on fear of the harmful consequences he may face in the event of his speech [19], [20]. Although there are things that the employee can do about organizational problems, they refrain from doing them and do not say their thoughts deliberately.…”

Impact of organizational silence and favoritism on nurse's work outcomes and psychological well‐being

“…For instance, organizational collaboration, which is critical in attaining positive outcomes in the organization, requires consistent and open communication among corporate teams. Being silent in the group could affect the organization, as essential issues concerning work and processes may not be communicated appropriately to other team members or higher levels of management 13 . Demirtaş 14 reported that reduced commitment and values are two examples of the detrimental effects of organizational silence.…”

“…When an employee working in a similar workplace perceived that the other employees receive preferential treatment or favored more, they may develop negative reactions toward their organization including an attitude of silence and alienation 33,34 . Ultimately, this may lead to counterproductive behaviors in employees and may affect the overall organizational productivity 13,29 . Despite the importance of these topics in the nursing profession, there is little in the literature examining the influence of favoritism and organizational silence on nurses' work outcomes and psychological wellbeing.…”

Development and psychometric testing of a Learning Behaviour Questionnaire among Chinese undergraduate nursing students

“…After two rounds of consultation and integration of their recommendations, 31 items were retained to phase 2, as Content Validity Index (CVI) must be ≥0.80. 25 …”