Employee silence, job burnout and job engagement among teachers: the mediational role of psychological safety

Background: Teaching is a highly demanding profession, with teachers reporting increasing levels of burnout. Accumulated evidence indicates that inhibiting the expression of one’s thoughts, emotions, and behaviors continuously can take a psychological toll actively resulting in physiological and psychological symptoms (e.g. stress, emotional exhaustion, strain). The purpose of this study was to assess the different types of employee silence among teachers and examine their relationship with job burnout, job engagement and psychological safety.

Methods: A convenience sampling method approach was used whereby 150 primary school education teachers from Greece participated in a survey. Self-reported measures for burnout, work-engagement, psychological safety and employee silence motives were used in this cross-sectional study.

Results: Psychological safety mediated the relationship between burnout and employee silence, and more specifically between the three core components of burnout and both acquiescent and quiescent silence, but not prosocial silence. In terms of engagement, the indirect effect was significant between vigor/dedication and both quiescent and acquiescent silence.

Conclusions: The present research highlighted the importance of acquiescent and quiescent silence, two forms of silence that are rooted in fear and hopelessness respectively. This research adds to the growing picture of teaching as a profession that is characterized by increasing levels of burnout, employee silence and low levels of psychological safety.