Overcoming the fear factor: Exploring what leads employees to speak up despite fear

What leads employees to speak up despite, or even because of, fear? Previous theory and research suggest that the emotion of fear leads to decreased levels of voice behavior as employees often fear that speaking up will be punished or not well-received by supervisors or leaders. However, this body of work has focused on fear of the boss and not considered other sources of fear experienced by employees. This is an important omission because functional theories of emotion suggest that voice may be more or less worthwhile depending on the source of fear (e.g., of the boss or of job loss). I challenge the assumption that fear leads to less voice and argue that the relationship between fear and voice is more complex. Drawing on cognitive appraisal and functional theories of emotions and on theories of voice, I argue that certain sources of fear (i.e., of job loss) may increase employee voice behavior in organizations. Specifying the source of fear along with the content of voice (speaking up promotively or prohibitively) allows for a more precise and nuanced understanding of how fear shapes voice. Using a multimethod approach, I test my hypotheses across two studies. Study 1 is a field study involving 182 matched pairs of subordinates and managers across three organizations. Study 2 involves two separate lab studies of 235 and 251 participants in a group task designed to replicate and extend the findings from Study 1. Results from both studies reveal that fear of job loss is positively related to voice behavior among employees who perceive their supervisor to be open to ideas and feedback and among employees who identify highly with their organization. These findings challenge the notion that fear leads to less voice, and highlight the importance of considering the source of fear when exploring how this emotion impacts employee voice behavior