Examining the phenomena of organizational silence and presenteeism: A qualitative study in high schools in Erzurum

Organizational silence is defined as a behavioral pattern in which employees prefer to keep their thoughts, experiences, and suggestions to themselves rather than sharing them. Presenteeism, on the other hand, refers to a situation where employees are physically present at the workplace but cannot fully focus on their tasks due to psychological or physical reasons. This study examines the fundamental dynamics behind the interrelated concepts of organizational silence and presenteeism through a qualitative approach based on the views of teachers working in high schools in Erzurum. It provides a detailed analysis of the individual and institutional-level effects of both phenomena. In this context, interview questions were prepared with expert opinions, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with teachers working in three different types of high schools in central Erzurum. The study employed a phenomenological case study design and adopted a purposive sampling method. The research participants consisted of teachers working in five public high schools, five state-supported private (foundation) high schools, and five private (foundation) high schools. The interview data were analyzed using MAXQDA 2020 software. Initially, a code hierarchy related to organizational silence and presenteeism was created, and a code matrix browser analysis was conducted. Single case analyses were performed for the research variables, and a word cloud was generated. According to the research findings, the reasons behind organizational silence among teachers include the perception that their opinions will not be considered, fear of punishment, and poor organizational culture. The factors contributing to presenteeism behavior among teachers include workload, fear of job loss, stress, and burnout. The study revealed a significant relationship between organizational silence and presenteeism. It was observed that employees who remain silent struggle to express their health concerns, which in turn increases presenteeism. A qualitative study focusing on these variables has not been found in the literature, making this research original in its field. Another key finding suggests that organizational leaders and managers should establish a communication environment where employees can freely express their opinions, adopt an open communication policy in their interactions, and strengthen organizational support mechanisms. Additionally, the findings strongly emphasize that organizational silence and presenteeism should be evaluated not only at an individual level but also within the framework of organizational structure and management policies.