Being silent about work situations or problems in an organization is very common. We all have faced situations in which we have been unable to raise an issue to a supervisor even though we felt the issue was important. Sometimes, we have preferred to remain silent because of the fear of being labeled negatively or just to avoid damaging our colleagues or managers relationships. Other times, we are afraid of being punished for our comments or even worse, based on previous experiences, we know that our comments will be ignored. Sometimes, we prefer using silence as our strongest message.
Whatever the reason for the silence is, the truth is that having employees who are not able to bring the problems to the table and talk about those issues openly is a reflection of the status of the internal communication and the corporate culture. Employees’ silent is not gold…
If there is poor internal communication in place, employees will find their way to communicate: rumors, gossips, mistrust, silence. Open communication between the management and the employees will provide context, support, understanding and opportunities to ask questions and to find solutions to issues.
It is clear that no all the people are ready for feedback. However, promoting open communication among the members of your organization will help creating a healthy organizations with more space for innovation and creativity. We all play a role when developing the communication in the company. Supervisors and managers are essential for creating a workplace where employees feel safe to have an opinion. Their main role is to “convince” and demonstrate to employees that the organization truly wants to hear about their concerns, ideas and aspirations. Actions are more important than words.
