Faced with organizational or interpersonal problems at work, people often decide not to speak up. “It’s not worth it,” they say, and soldier on. But disturbing new research shows that the price of silence is much greater than we realize.
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Silence is associated with many virtues: modesty, respect for others, prudence, decorum. Thanks to deeply ingrained rules of etiquette, people silence themselves to avoid embarrassment, confrontation, and other perceived dangers. There’s an old saying that sums up the virtues of silence: “Better to be quiet and thought a fool than to talk and be known as one.”
A version of this article appeared in the May 2003 issue of Harvard Business Review.
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LP Leslie A. Perlow is the Konosuke Matsush*ta Professor of Leadership at Harvard Business School and founder of the Better Work Institute. She is the author of Sleeping With Your Smartphone (HBR Press, 2012).
SW Stephanie Williams is a research associate at Harvard Business School and a lecturer in the management department of the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado at Boulder.
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