Examining the mediating role of organizational loneliness in the effect of organizational silence on the intention to quit

Abstract

The main purpose of organizational behavior approaches is to increase organizational efficiency by improving employees’ morale and motivation. Many factors support and inhibit the productivity and motivation of employees in organizations. In the literature, these are referred to as pro-organizational approaches and counterproductive work behavior. The study aims to examine the relationship between organizational silence, intention to quit, and organizational loneliness. Organizational silence is the conscious denial of the employee’s mental contribution to their company’s activity due to organizational and managerial reasons. Organizational loneliness refers to a negative emotional state experienced by employees in the workplace due to incompatible normative factors (culture, belief, and values). Methodologically, the study relies on the counterproductive work behavior theory, which states that employees act against the interests of an organization and experience lack of motivation and productivity. The research data were collected from employees working for public and private banks in Konya and Ankara, Turkey. To analyse the data, descriptive statistics and correlation analysis were performed using SPSS22.0 and AMOS software. The study shows that organizational loneliness has a mediating role in the relationship between organizational silence and intention to quit. It has also been determined that the unfavorable working conditions, which cause employees’ perception of organizational silence, strengthen the employees’ intention to quit their job and their perception of organizational loneliness. The study’s theoretical and practical results show that taking measures to increase employees’ morale and motivation in organizations will enhance their work performance.