EMPLOYEE SILENCE ON CRITICAL WORK ISSUES: THE CROSS LEVEL EFFECTS OF PROCEDURAL JUSTICE CLIMATE

This study examined the cross‐level effects of procedural justice climate on employee silence—that is, the intentional withholding of critical work‐related information by employees from their workgroup members. In a survey‐based study of 606 nurses nested within 30 workgroups, we found that procedural justice climate moderated the effects of individual‐level antecedents of employee silence. Specifically, when procedural justice climate was higher, the effects of antecedents that inhibit employee silence (e.g., workgroup identification, professional commitment) were stronger. Implications for research and practice are discussed.