Tracking employee voice: developing the concept of voice pathways

Abstract

Different disciplines have studied employee voice as a key component of workplaces. However, they have not tended to look at voice as a journey en route to enhanced (or diminished) employee voice with a start, diversion, delay and combining twists and turns during processes leading to outcomes. In this article, we build on existing theory and phenomena to develop the concept of ‘employee voice pathways’. We use this concept to provide a framework for analysing the processes underpinning employee voice as a potential desirable form of employee voice as well as outlining areas for a future research agenda.

Enhancing Employee Voice and Inclusion Through Inclusive Leadership in Public Sector Organizations

“…In this article, we responded to the calls from previous studies (e.g., Shore et al, 2018; Townsend et al, 2020) to explore the impact of inclusive leadership behaviors on EV and their perceptions of inclusion. We did this through a focus on Indigenous EV in public sector organizations in Vietnam.…”

“…and internal factors (i.e., organizational regulations, leadership, employers-led, etc.) as voice is considered as a process from start to end (Hickland et al, 2020; Townsend et al, 2020).…”

“…Employee voice (EV) is understood as practices giving employees opportunities to have a say and influence over managerial decision-making in organizations (Wilkinson et al, 2014). EV practices and occurrence are motivated by external and internal factors (Townsend et al, 2020). Studies demonstrate that leadership behavior is an internal factor that is often crucial in enabling employees to express their voice (Ingraham & Getha-Taylor, 2004;Ng, 2008;Tang et al, 2015).…”

“…This is particularly the case in Confucian cultures where the diversity of voices is often ignored (Alang et al, 2020). Townsend et al (2020) call for more research on the motivation of EV. Also, Shore et al (2018) suggest the need for studies exploring how inclusive leadership behaviors impact on marginalized employees' perceptions of workplace inclusion.…”

Victim or master of HRM implementation: the frontline manager conundrum

“…To understand the FLM's role in HRM policy enactment, it may be helpful to gain further information to progress theory regarding the manifestation of enactment. From a review of the literature regarding FLM enactment of specific HR policies, the prognosis appears bleak: HRM training is rarely adequate for FLMs ); FLMs suggest their most disliked activity is performance appraisal (Redman 2001); they are sceptical of the motives of performance-related pay (Harris 2001); managing tensions between informal and formal systems is challenging for FLMs (Townsend et al 2013;Lee et al 2020); handling employee voice can be neglected by FLMs Townsend et al 2020); trade union dialogue is marginalised and/or actively resisted by FLMs, often for ideological anti-union motives (Dundon et al 2015); and HR intervention in grievance and disciplinary matters is often inadequate (Rollinson et al 1996).…”