Organizational silence and work alienation: a study on public hospital health employees.

This study aimed to examine the relationship between organizational silence and work alienation among healthcare employees and to explore whether these variables differ according to sociodemographic characteristics. This cross-sectional study was conducted among health employees working in public hospitals in Northern Cyprus. The study population consisted of 1,755 employees, and 446 participants were included in the sample. Data were collected using the Organizational Silence Scale, the Work Alienation Scale, and a sociodemographic information form. Statistical analyses included correlation analysis to assess relationships between subdimensions. The findings indicated significant relationships between several subdimensions of organizational silence and work alienation. A weak negative correlation was found between defensive silence and prosocial silence, as well as between prosocial silence and acquiescent silence. A moderate positive relationship was observed between defensive and acquiescent silence. Among the work alienation subdimensions, powerlessness was positively associated with meaninglessness, and meaninglessness was positively related to self-estrangement. Additionally, prosocial silence showed a low-level positive correlation with powerlessness. The present results indicate that organizational silence is associated with dimensions of work alienation among health employees. Healthcare managers should address factors contributing to silence and alienation and implement strategies to enhance employees' sense of meaning and engagement at work. Future research should consider cultural and contextual differences when assessing work alienation in healthcare settings.