Voice in non-traditional employment relationships: a review and future research directions

Abstract

Research on employee voice has been widely documented for workers in traditional employment relationships (TERs) and has offered a broad understanding of how they express their ideas and complaints at work. However, an under-explored area concerns how workers express voice in non-traditional employment relationships (NTERs) characterised by flexibility, temporality, instability, and insecurity. Studying voice in NTERs is of high importance due to its increased potential proliferation and associated precariousness. In this paper, we expand the knowledge frontiers in the voice literature by conducting an integrative review of empirical studies that explore voice among workers in NTERs. We identify the forms of voice available to non-traditional workers, the issues they are interested in voicing, how effective their voice is in influencing management decisions, determinants, and outcomes of their voice. Future research agenda offered concerning how the neglected area of voice among non-traditional workers can be addressed. employment relationships (NTERs). TERs, otherwise known as standard employment, are characterised by contract permanency, specified work hours, working on employer's premises, continuity, long-term career expectations, and income security (Ashford et al., 2007). Conversely, NTERs, otherwise known as alternative work arrangements, non-standard

Workers’ voice from the triangular employment relationship lens: towards a conceptual framework

“…Theoretically, we contribute to the current debates on voice trajectories by arguing that peculiar social, technological and economic factors (Wilkinson et al, 2021) rooted in mediated employment arrangements are key to understanding voice of workers in triangular employment. Specifically, it extends both Oyetunde et al (2022) and Prouska and Kapsali's (2021) efforts by highlighting the forces that influence voice of workers in triangular employment. Hence, we highlight the following future research directions.…”

“…Voice is a multi-disciplinary construct and each of the disciplinary studies grew in silos over the years and distinctive models have been developed to operationalise and theorise workers' voice. However, recent efforts from Kaufman (2015), Mowbray et al (2015), Nechanska et al (2020), Oyetunde et al (2022), Prouska and Kapsali (2021), widen the scope beyond the disciplinary silos by putting forward integrative models. A perusal of these models indicates the voice conceptualisation, determinants and outcomes (see Table 2).…”

“…Kaufman (2015) also acknowledged employment relationship as a determinant of employee voice but did not consider distinctive employment arrangements. The model presented by Oyetunde et al (2022) and Prouska and Kapsali (2021) without targeting a type of non-standard work, Prouska and Kapsali (2021) only focus on project workers. Hence, our framework adds to the employee voice theory by identifying specific factors associated with triangular work that are likely to impact workers' voice.…”

“…In this paper, we focus on the peculiar attributes of workers in triangular employment relationships, unfolding how these attributes contribute to the voice of these workers. A recent review on non-traditional/non-standard workers voice (Oyetunde et al, 2022) indicates the need to further understand the voice enablers and inhibitors of the different strands of non-traditional workers. Although, scholars have developed models to explain the determining enablers and inhibitors of workers voice, the peculiarity of employment context and how they determine workers voice remains largely underdeveloped in extant voice literature.…”

Impact of Traditional Behavior of Customers, Employees, and Social Enterprises on the Fear of Change and Resistance to Innovation

“…The fear of change in China is also considered a dominant element among the employees whose behavior certainly changes due to changes in tradition. Moreover, Oyetunde et al ( 2022 ) assessed the relationships between traditional and non-traditional employment and its contribution to the resistance to innovation. However, there is also the tradition of employees in an organization about the workings and the ways of workings.…”