Stew in silence or boil up gradually? A process model of employees’ remedial voice

Abstract

Abstract Prior studies have treated employees’ remedial voice as a single-stage phenomenon. However, it is problematic because, in reality, employees often respond to mistreatment in a sequence. This paper aims to add new insights by empirically testing a three-stage process model to explain employees’ remedial voice. Also, this study intends to test important factors in the employees’ remedial voice decision-making process. Based on data obtained by surveying 382 Chinese employees, we found that mistreatment severity, mistreatment source, and employees’ external job opportunities are related to employees’ remedial voice. Our data provides support for a three-stage-process model for remedial voice. We contribute to the gaps in the existing research which largely views employees’ remedial voice as a single ‘snapshot.’ The study also deepens understanding of what factors affect employees’ remedial voice.