Korean J Occup Health Nurs.  2022 May;31(2):66-76. 10.5807/kjohn.2022.31.2.66.

Nurses’ Organizational Silence in Hospitals: A Grounded Theoretical Approach

• Yi K
• You M

• KMID: 2537012
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.5807/kjohn.2022.31.2.66

Abstract

Purpose
This study aimed to explore the constructs and context of hospital nurses’ organizational silence.
Methods
In-depth interviews were conducted with 17 nurses in small-middle general hospitals as well as big university hospitals. We then derived the key themes using grounded theory method.
Results
Nine themes and 30 sub-themes were derived: “Willing to be recognized for performance rather than saying”, “Getting used to the hard-to-speak climate”, “Face the reality that does not change when said”, “Complicated situation that prevents self-regulating decision-making”, “Conflicts that are difficult to confront”, “Unfair responsibilities that I want to evade”, “Leaders who don’t support me”, and “Being blocked in communication”. Consequently, the nurses learned to adopt a climate of silence and “learned organizational silence” behavior. They experienced that prosocial silence was essential for obtaining approval as a member of the group, and defensive silence for protecting themselves in the hierarchical structure and unfair responsibilities. Acquiescent silence originated from a futile relationship with their supervisors, one-way communications, and the unsupportive management system, in which three types of silence appeared sequentially or in combination with each other.
Conclusion
Based on these results, nursing managers should identify the context of nurses’ organizational silence and should lessen these silence behaviors.

Keyword

Nurses; Hospitals; Communication; Culture; Grounded theory