Beyond the voice–silence dichotomy: identifying employee voice and silence profiles through latent class analysis

While employee voice address challenges, silence impedes organizational adaptability. Moving beyond previous dichotomous approaches, follower groups were identified based on their voice and silence behaviors, and various predictive and outcome variables were analyzed. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 577 participants. The study adopted a hybrid exploratory–confirmatory design to investigate whether employee voice and silence operate as independent behavioral dimensions. Latent Class Analysis identified the aforementioned groups. Binary logistic regression analyzed the influence of psychological safety, civic virtue, and readiness for change on group membership, while linear regression examined the impact of membership on career satisfaction and well-being. The social norm of silence was included in our investigation. Four groups were revealed: Silencers, Voicers, Circumspects, and Indifferents. Psychological safety, civic virtue, and readiness for change influenced group membership. The identification of these four distinct groups underscores the independence of voice and silence. Voicers and Circumspects exhibit proactive tendencies in the organization, while Silencers and Indifferents are passive. These insights carry significant practical implications for developing training programs aimed at fostering voice behavior.