To Disclose or Not? Understanding Employees’ Uncertainty and Behavior Regarding Health Disclosure in the Workplace: A Modified Socioecological Approach

Abstract

The health disclosure of employees may facilitate effective workplace health programs and policy design and implementation of an organization. Given the complexity of the decision-making process of health disclosure, the present study seeks to understand the health disclosure behavior of employees from an interdisciplinary perspective. We incorporated the socioecological model of disclosure from the public health field, uncertainty reduction theory from the interpersonal communication discipline, and organizational relationship concepts from the public relations area. Guided by the above theoretical frameworks, a survey of 409 full-time employees in the United States found that individual-, interpersonal-, and organizational-level factors were significantly associated with employees’ perceived uncertainty—a perquisite variable that predominates individuals’ decision-making process. Engaging in different communication behaviors also helped employees reduce uncertainty about health disclosure in the workplace. The findings implore organizations to implement interventions targeting multiple levels of the socioecological framework to reduce employees’ perceived uncertainty, which in turn facilitate their disclosure decision-making process.