Employee Engagement, Direct Voice Mechanisms, and Enterprise Social Network Sites (ESNS)

Abstract

Effective organizational communication allowing a two-way flow of communication between employees and upper management can foster greater levels of engagement and productivity. This is often referred to as providing opportunities for direct employee "voice." Observing the success of social technologies for personal use, employers have been eager to capitalize on social technologies to engage employees by implementing enterprise social network sites (ESNS), also referred to as workplace social media. Whether workplace social media will be an effective tool in enhancing voice and engagement, and what potential drawbacks exist for employees and firms have yet to be fully studied. Using fundamental concepts from the Self-Determination (SDT) and Social Cognitive Theories (SCT) as a guide, my research develops and tests a theoretical model examining the psychological motivations for voicing, perceived voicing affordances, as well as voice climate and communication style preferences, and their relationships to employee voicing behavior, engagement, and satisfaction. I validate the model using a field survey of participants who use workplace social media regularly, which is analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). My research provides important insights on voicing to both academics and managers seeking to productively leverage workplace social media in their firms.