"Voice gap," which measures a worker's perceived gap between desired and actual influence at work, significantly impacts job-related outcomes, such as job satisfaction, according to new research by ILR Assistant Professor Duanyi Yang.
"The findings were very straightforward," Yang said. "A voice gap is significantly associated with lower job satisfaction and well-being, as well as higher burnout and turnover intention."
The paper, "Does Voice Gap Influence Workers' Job Attitudes and Well-Being? Measuring Voice as a Dimension of Job Quality," was published on Nov. 22 in the British Journal of Industrial Relations.
Yang and coauthors distinguished voice gap on issues that benefit workers directly, such as their pay and working conditions, and on issues that are more related to the interests of the organization they work for, such as improving the organization's performance. They found that a voice gap related to worker issues exhibited stronger and more significant impacts on job satisfaction, turnover intention, psychological well-being and burnout, compared to those related to an organizational-strategy voice gap. The researchers also found that workers who reported a larger voice gap on issues related to their own interests were more likely to vote for union representation.
Read the full story on the ILR website.
Julie Greco is a senior communications specialist for the ILR School.
