When Organizational Voice Systems Fail

Abstract

Recently, organizations have been introducing greater types and numbers of systems for employees to voice their complaints. Yet academic and popular accounts indicate that some voice systems are causing what they are intended to prevent, exacerbating employees’ perceptions of unfairness and discontent. Analysis of interview data from an inductive study of employees’ experiences of workplace injustice provides strong evidence of the deaf-ear syndrome (organizational failures to respond to employees’ complaints) and frustration effects (the pattern of increased dissatisfaction when people voice). Informal systems, namely, open-door policies, were particularly susceptible to failure. Drawing on organizational justice theory and industrial relations research, these results are explained, and additional avenues for research and theory development are acknowledged. Implications for individuals and organizations also are discussed.