The Balancing Act When Engaging Peers in Constructive Voicing: Uncovering Voicing Tensions and Response Strategies

The study explored tensions that voicers experience when involving their peers in constructive voicing endeavors. Based on in-depth interview data from 23 workers, three tensions were identified: being perceived as strategic versus manipulative, leveraging peers’ strengths to refine ideas versus safeguarding against idea stealing, and amplifying ideas versus maintaining public neutrality. Additionally, participants discussed the strategic ways they responded to these tensions. The study advances constructive voice scholarship by illustrating the complex process marked by tensions that characterize involving peers in voicing endeavors. Further, findings contribute to organizational tensions and paradoxes scholarship by (a) highlighting how responding to tensions can produce additional tensions among voicers, further complicating the process of tension management and (b) demonstrating that effective tension management requires adaptability and collaborative effort. Based on the findings, the study offers practical insights for voicers, peers, and managers.