Silence within the workplace restricts change, transformation and the innovation of organizations. It can also be detrimental to the health and well-being of individual employees. Managing Silence in Workplaces investigates the costs of silence to the individual, the organization and society at large. In examining the coexistence of voice, noise and silence, the book demonstrates that management of silence is not possible in isolation of these other concepts. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach towards managing silence in workplaces, the book traces individual employee silence as movements in five zones of silence - hope, indifference, helplessness, hopelessness and exit. Looking at both the employer and employee perspectives, Sivaram Vemuri advocates the need to nurture hope to better manage and address the costs of silence to the individual employee and the organization. By incorporating examination of ethics into the management of silence in the workplace, the book proposes that silence can be managed better by the resolute pursuit of consciousness and breaking down the communication of real and imaginary barriers in workplaces and in the minds of the employees of organizations. It is an illuminating book for practitioners and researchers working within human resources management, as well as managers of organizations in any field.

This volume is an interdisciplinary exploration of the modalities, meanings, and practices of silence in contemporary social discourse. How is silence treated in different cultures? In a globalized world, how is silence managed between and across cultures? Co-authored by a philosopher and an economist, the text draws on interviews with scholars and practitioners in fields as diverse as marine biology and African American history. International case studies are presented in operational contexts from the Black Lives Matter movement to the creation of art installations to the struggles of transgender people in Southeast Asia. The authors examine the relationship between ethics and silence, and suggest strategies to transform social praxis through greater attention to silence.