FINAL WORD
At a time when research on inclusive leadership and employee voice is gaining momentum , it is disheartening to read about global corporations making a U-turn in their approach to employee voice at work . Recent stories in the press seem to indicate a cultural shift in traditional hierarchies in tech companies especially , contradicting messages of the recent past such as ‘ bringing your whole self to work ’, ‘ leaning in ’ and ‘ radical candour ’, all of which indicated that employees were encouraged to speak up at work .
A recent Netflix culture memo featuring on the company ’ s jobs webpage included the phrase ‘ not all opinions are created equal ’. This is a stark contradiction with the company ’ s first culture memo in 2009 , which called for employees to ‘ question actions inconsistent with our values ’. Similarly in Tesla , Elon Musk ’ s memo advising employees : “ You can talk to your manager ’ s manager without his permission , you can talk directly to a VP in another dept , you can talk to me ,” turned sour when employees started reporting a culture of fear , with some blaming their firing on their efforts to organise a union . At Google , messages like ‘ bringing your whole self to work ’ were undermined when employees were urged to leave the political part of their selves at home , and 50 workers were fired following sit-in protests over the company ’ s contract with the Israeli government .
Overall , global corporations , which once appeared transformative in the way they managed people in a bid to attract and retain talent , seem to prefer their employees to keep their mouths shut now that they have matured . Reading such stories in the press , one wonders , what has gone wrong ?
The benefits of employee voice
The many benefits of employee voice have been established for decades . Employee voice is about enabling employees to share ideas that contribute to improving the firm ’ s productivity , work organisation and quality of work , through employee involvement in decision-making . But it is also about providing employees with opportunities to share any concerns or dissatisfaction that they have over work issues , either individually or collectively , in a bid to rectify issues and prevent deterioration in relations .
The premise of employee voice is that it benefits both organisations and employees . The benefits for organisations have been widely reported and include increased profitability , productivity , innovation and efficiency . For employees , voice is integral to their engagement and wellbeing and is an indicator of good work . But there is also a moral case to be made for employee voice . It is simply the ‘ right thing to do ’, as the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development , the UK ’ s HR professional body articulates . Voice is important ‘ not just for organisational effectiveness , but also by way of offering dignity and respect to workers ’, it says .
Why then does it seem that global corporations no longer value the business and moral case for offering employees a voice ? The most likely answer is not that they underestimate the importance of employee voice , but that as these global corporations have grown in size and complexity their current voice channels ( and in particular the way they devolve responsibility for fostering employee voice to line managers ) have become inadequate .
The role of line managers
For employee voice to be effectively enabled , there must be a strong alignment between the best practices outlined by the company ’ s HR department and the way line managers implement these practices .
What is critical here is that line managers are often not properly trained in HR issues , including in employee voice . A 2023 research study in the UK carried out by the Chartered Management Institute in partnership with YouGov indicated that there is a widespread concern about the quality of management and its impact on workers ’ daily lives . The study found that 82 % of those entering management positions have not had any formal management training .
This creates a situation where organisations end up being staffed by many ‘ accidental managers ’. It is no wonder , therefore , that employees are left vulnerable to toxic or abusive managers , or to managers who may have good intentions but who just don ’ t know how to manage people . Lessons from smaller firms can be valuable here . Recent research indicated the role of trust and respect towards the boss in creating a positive voice
WHY THEN DOES IT SEEM THAT GLOBAL CORPORATIONS NO LONGER VALUE THE BUSINESS AND MORAL CASE FOR OFFERING EMPLOYEES A VOICE ?
Professor Rea Prouska , Hult International Business School
www . intelligentcxo . com
79