The impact of personality traits of individuals on organizational silence in its four forms

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of personality traits of individuals on organizational silence in the context of its four forms, discussed in prevailing angles taken in relevant literature. Respondents’ personality traits are differentiated according to the five 8 factor model of personality (the Big Five). Design/methodology/approach: The empirical material was obtained through a survey by means of a questionnaire with 47 questions (including questions about discriminatory behaviour, forms of organizational silence and respondents’ personality traits). The survey was conducted in 2021 in the West Pomeranian province, Poland. 426 questionnaires were analysed. Findings: There are statistically significant correlations (overall, positively-oriented) for acquiescent silence with results of self-assessment of respondents’ personality traits in the domain of extraversion, conscientiousness and openness to experience, while for defensive silence – in the domain of extraversion, neuroticism (exceptionally - negative correlation) and openness to experience. Research limitations/implications: The analysis is based on respondents’ subjective declarations. Intensification of respondents’ personality traits is examined on the basis of self 20 assessment, which may limit the pre-editorial capacity of the measuring tool. Practical implications: The study presents individual descriptions of personalities which determine the differentiated behaviours relating to organizational silence. This knowledge may be used in the context of managerial actions for breaking silence. Originality/value: This research may be considered pioneering in the Polish literature, while such investigations in international writings are rare and conducted in a different typological configuration.