The difference between promotive and prohibitive voice.

As a leader, do you feel that your people are sometimes reluctant to share bad news with you? If so, it probably has something to do with the concept of prohibitive voice.

Employee voice is not a singular concept; it takes two distinct forms: promotive and prohibitive. Promotive employee voice aims to improve organisational performance, while prohibitive employee voice seeks to express concerns or highlight problems.

Research* shows that employees prefer forums that provide anonymity and confidentiality when using their prohibitive voice. If such listening channels are unavailable or difficult to access, employees may remain silent rather than risk the repercussions that come with being the bearer of bad news.

As a result, leaders are often blindsided by problems they never see coming or make decisions without all the facts. But it doesn’t have to be this way. To access their employees’ prohibitive voice, leaders must expand their listening ecosystem to include channels that offer anonymity and encourage dialogue about hard-to-discuss issues.

Once the bad news is liberated, leaders will find it much easier to foster an open conversation about how to address the concern or navigate around a fast-approaching problem.

Newlens Research provides a range of listening tools that can help leaders achieve this outcome.

*Mao, C. M., & DeAndrea, D. C. (2019). How Anonymity and Visibility Affordances Influence Employees’ Decisions About Voicing Workplace Concerns. Management Communication Quarterly, 33(2), 160–188.

Employee listening for leaders™