THE PHENOMENON OF THE EPIDEMIC OF SILENCE AS A CRITICAL FACTOR IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF ORGANIZATIONAL MANAGEMENT

Abstract

In recent years, more and more organizations have recognized that efficiency and effectiveness depend not only on access to qualified personnel, technology or capital, but also on an organiza-tional culture that enables open and free expression of opinions by employees. Research and obser-vations in the field of management and quality sciences indicate that many organizations face the challenge of the so-called epidemic of silence (hereinafter referred to as EC), i.e. a situation in which employees avoid openly expressing their opinions or sharing their concerns, ideas or inno-vations. The author has attempted to describe EC as a phenomenon resulting from specific behav-iors and decisions, strongly influencing not only organizational culture but also efficiency and effectiveness. As a management practitioner and active professional manager, he identifies key factors, in his opinion, that generate the risk of EC occurring in an organization, with particular emphasis on the concept of interpersonal risk and psychological safety (hereinafter referred to as BP). As a result, directions for possible actions aimed at building a mature culture of failure and success in an organization have been presented. Although the article deals with phenomena strong-ly rooted in the psychosocial space, it should be read in the perspective of management and quality sciences, according to the postulate that in contemporary economic and business realities, it is erroneous and dangerous in management processes to separate systemic aspects from cultural ones.